Embracing a circular economy

The construction sector is a major contributor to climate change, exacerbated by its wastefulness of valuable and finite materials. Here Gareth Evans, national sales manager at Technal, discusses a circular economy concept and how it could assist in reducing the sector’s environmental impact.

Globally, the construction sector accounts for 23% of air pollution, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill waste. Furthermore, through the transportation, manufacturing process, and excavation of materials, the construction industry is responsible for 30% of energy and process-related carbon dioxide emissions, a major contributor to global warming.

Recognising its environmental impact, many facets of the construction industry are looking towards the concept of a circular economy for inspiration. Society at large has followed a ‘take, make, dispose’ approach, where natural resources are excavated, products are manufactured and at the end of their use, are disposed of in landfill. However, a circular economy approach looks to create a cyclical product lifecycle by reusing materials, aiming to eliminate waste and pollution.

One of the major issues for the construction sector comes at the end of a building’s life, as many of its materials are sent to landfill or incinerated after demolition. Firstly, this is not conducive to a circular economy approach and secondly, it is a major loss of valuable materials. One possible solution to this issue is urban mining.

Essentially, urban mining is the process of recovering valuable and reusable material from infrastructure that has become obsolete. Due to the energy use required to mine and process raw metal ore into useable products, as well as the finite amount available, this idea is particularly crucial for metals. To put it into context, recycling aluminium to create a new product requires 95% less energy than manufacturing the product from scratch. Furthermore, aluminium can be recycled indefinitely without its structural capabilities and other basic properties diminishing.

Our aim at Technal, is to offer products that can help developers achieve their environmental targets. Our involvement in the Pavilion Point student accommodation scheme is a prime example of this.

Pavilion Point is a Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) development on London Road in the centre of Brighton, close to the University of Brighton’s main campus. Managed by student accommodation specialist Fresh, the building provides 232 student rooms, dedicated social and study areas, a gym, café, multimedia space and landscaped courtyard as well as retail units on the ground floor. The five-storey development, designed by Corstorphine & Wright, targeted BREEAM Excellent standards.

Fully aware that sourcing products with low embodied carbon was a necessity for Corstorphine & Wright, we approached them with products manufactured with our Hydro Circal 75R recycled aluminium.

Containing at least 75% aluminium from post-consumer scrap, Hydro Circal 75R has one of the smallest CO₂ footprints worldwide with 2.3 kg of CO₂ emissions per kilo of aluminium. This is 86% or seven times less than the global average for primary extraction. The use of Hydro Circal 75R on the Pavilion Point development helped to greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the project at no additional cost.

Jose Tweedie, associate at Corstorphine & Wright, commented: “As a practice, we are always looking to embrace products and innovations that can help make our clients buildings more sustainable. When Technal presented Hydro Circal 75R as an option at no additional cost, it was clearly a positive change with no drawback. This was very much in line with our vision for the project and aligned with our goal for BREEAM Excellent.”

Dean Sherwood, project consultant at Technal concluded: “The Pavilion Point scheme demonstrates the value of close collaboration and how the specification of energy efficient systems manufactured from recycled materials can help achieve reductions in both embodied and operational carbon emissions.”

The construction sector has an obligation to rectify its wastefulness, particularly in relation to finite materials such as aluminium. Exercising a circular economy approach when possible must now be the norm in order to turn the tables of climate change.