We've talked a lot about recycling building materials. And we've spent thirteen episodes demonstrating how you can build a beautiful home out of recycled agricultural waste material--that's straw to be exact. Now a couple of scientists with a grant from Britain's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council have gone it one better, producing a building block that essentially replaces carbon-intensive concrete with good old fashioned garbage.
The Bitublock contain crushed glass, fly ash, steel slag and even sewage sludge, held together with bitumen as a binder. The blocks aren't just clean, they're also strong--six times stronger than concrete, in fact. From the preview image at left, the blocks appear to have a versatile form factor capable of emulating concrete blocks in any setting.
Read more about the Bitublock in Science Daily, EcoGeek, Inhabitat and a nifty must-read blog called Rolland Piquepaille's Technology Trends.
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Steel in a Green World
There's no doubt that steel plays a vital role in the world economy. But, steel's creation is running straight into the green movement. Governments are increasingly enacting laws which restrict emissions generated by steel production.
Steel recycling programs help alleviate environmental stress by reducing the emissions produced from steel smelting. As technology advances, manufacturers are finding better and cleaners processes for manufacturing steel.
Steel has become the commodity which is building the world. From ancient times until now, people have understood steel's significance for a modern, functioning world.