Building blocks

In the minds of the eco-conscious, the terms waste and garbage are not interpreted in the strictest literal sense. What might be seen as refuse by most is viewed by these individuals as an opportunity to create initiatives and radical products that make a difference to the world we live in..British company Encos plans to produce bricks made from incinerated sewage waste. The Leeds-based entity has created block and brick prototypes using sewage slurry from a treatment plant near Leeds after approvals from water treatment utility authority Yorkshire Water..Jon Brigg, innovations manager at Yorkshire Water, says the "carbon negative" brick could avoid the need to deposit the ash generated by incinerating sewage in landfills. Disposal of sludge from sewage treatment plants is a key environmental and commercial burden for Britain’s water companies..Mark Nichols, chief executive of Encos, says technological innovations allow bricks to be made from a wider range of materials — including ash from incinerated sewage — while maintaining the mechanical strength of standard clay-based blocks. "Incinerated sludge is just one aggregate we are trialling. Other raw materials could include waste from coal-fired power stations and quarry dust," he tells the Financial Times. These methods reduce the need for clay extraction and cement, which drive up the environmental impact of traditional building materials, he adds. .Encos hopes to launch the revolutionary product in about two years, subject to testing and receiving funding of up to £10 million (about Dh56 million) for commercial scale production to begin. If successful, the company could provide up to 2 per cent of Britain’s annual output of 1.1 billion bricks, reveals Nichols. Brigg says ever-tightening regulations for new buildings, requiring further reductions in carbon footprints, could help drive adoption of more environmentally-friendly bricks..Across the globe, in Tangerang, Indonesia, another recycling revolution is providing cleaner living spaces and employment opportunities. An unreliable municipal garbage collection system forced the residents of Griya Serpong, a working class housing area consisting of 325 families, to dispose off the waste themselves..At a monthly cost per family of 12,000 Indonesian rupiahs (about Dh4.8) August and Karma sweep through Griya Serpong’s alleyways everyday, collecting up to 400 kilograms of garbage. They compost all organic refuse at a roofed garbage sorting facility, which the colony set up with help from BEST, a local non-governmental organisation that focuses on urban poverty, and BORDA (Bremen Overseas Research Organisation), a German non-profit organisation. The compost is sold along with the plastic, glass and paper. Once everything of value is separated from the refuse, no more than 30 per cent remains, which is taken to a tip..Residents and those involved in the project are happy with the results. "It’s got a lot cleaner here," Ulil Albab, the project’s honorary chairman, tells."It’s a win-win situation," says BEST director Hamzah Harun Al Rasyid. "The housing area is cleaner, there are new jobs, and there is considerably less rubbish, so we’re reducing methane emissions from the garbage tips." Facilities such as the one in Griya Serpong are catching on, with the 21st one being inaugurated soon and other communities clamouring for their own.