Re-use not recycling

There's a really interesting piece on the AJ's Footprint blog covering a workshop on demolition and recycling. So many calculations about embodied energy make assumptions about what will happen to materials at the end of a building's life, that it is fascinating to learn about what is done in reality, about the potential and the pitfalls. The holy grail, of course, is to actually re-use materials, ideally in situ. It was enlightening to see how little brick was actually re-used at the Olympics. On contrast, at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, 90 per cent of the brick from the previous building is being used - perhaps a question of scale? The re-use is assisted by the fact that the original building was old enough to have used lime mortar, which is much easier to break up than modern, cement-based mortars.
The AJ article also looked at Oxford Wood Recycling, an admirable organisation that belies its name by concentrating on re-use and recovery rather than recycling. It is unable to satisfy demand, an indication that there is certainly room for more such enterprises - especially if the demolition industry can get organised.

Life-cycle lessons from American hardwoods

Last night the American Hardwood Export Council presented some preliminary results from its high-level life-cycle analysis. Rupert Oliver of Forest Industries Intelligence, who helped brief PE International, explained that one of the benefits of LCA analysis is that it helps people make better, and better informed, decisions. For example, the results show that transport has far less impact on carbon dioxide generation than the amount of kiln drying. Thicker wood takes longer to dry and therefore generates more carbon dioxide. And oaks, which are slower drying, also generate more than other timbers.
Nevertheless, American hardwoods arriving in the UK have significant net  amounts of carbon dioxide locked up. The challenge for architects and furniture designers is to maintain that net balance - partly through the amount of energy they put into processing, and partly by keeping the material in as raw a state as possible. Recycling and burning of waste timber for fuel are easiest without added preservatives and glues.
The specific figures apply to American hardwoods, but many of the lessons apply to those working with timber in general.