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Paper, planes and party poppers: recycled material
Updated: 03-Sep-2010
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Nicky Gibbs, together with her husband Richard, created RIMINI Projects. They offer a bespoke project management service for property owners in the UK and across the Algarve.
There are a myriad of different materials that go into the construction and decoration of homes – some greener than others!
Everything from the materials used to construct a home to the surfaces, finishes, furniture and furnishings can be environmentally-friendly: with the added advantage that natural, eco-friendly materials provide a healthier and more comfortable environment to live in.
Taking the structure of the home first, one of the easiest ways to incorporate eco-friendly materials is to use reclaimed or recycled materials, such as roof tiles, doors and so on.
You could also incorporate more unusual materials from refrigeration panels to jumbo jet parts. And no, I’m not kidding about the plane. You may think that’s not particularly green, but the plane is being recycled.
When it comes to windows, wooden frames made from hard wood are the greenest and have the highest thermal performance. But they are expensive.
However, composite windows (softwood clad with aluminium) can offer the best of both worlds – high thermal performance from the wood, and the zero maintenance of the aluminium resulting in windows with lifespans of up to 50 years.
Flooring offers a wealth of options. Wood is perhaps the most obviously green choice. A natural renewable resource that can be re-used, recycled and is biodegradable.
Linoleum is also a very eco-friendly material. Contrary to popular belief, it is a wholly natural product - its main ingredient is linseed oil. It comes in huge range of colours, patterns and finishes and is warm, resilient, antibacterial, antistatic and hypoallergenic.
It is also naturally burn and fire resistant, biodegradable and recyclable, and so durable it actually becomes harder with age!
One option that has been out of favour since the 1970s (it was my parents flooring of choice when I was a small child) is cork.
Living as we do in Portugal, one of the world’s biggest producers, it has the added advantage of low embodied energy.
Cork is renewable, recyclable, antibacterial and hypoallergenic. It also has good thermal and sound insulating properties. In fact, it can also be used to insulate the home. Given a modern make-over, maybe it’s time for a comeback?
Ceramic tiles and stone are the most popular flooring of choice, but while the raw materials are natural resources, the embodied energy required to produce both is high.
Concrete on the other hand, it might surprise you to know, has very good green credentials. It is 100 per cent recyclable and when highly polished offers a very modern look.
In terms of wall finishes, natural plasters and paints offer the most eco-friendly options. VOC-free paints (volatile organic compounds) really are better for everyone – better for the living environment, produce less waste and are biodegradable.
Interior fixtures, fittings and furniture offer all sorts of options using all sorts of materials that offer some unusual, but stylish ways to go green inside.
There are kitchen work surfaces made from highly compressed paper, terrazzo (crushed stone and glass), concrete and aluminium (drinks cans).
All have pretty good green credentials with their high levels of recycling, and wouldn’t look out of place in the most modern of kitchens.
Tiles are now available made from everything from recycled ceramics to car windscreens and cathode ray TV screens, in a range of colours and styles.
While this sounds rather industrial, the look is anything but, providing a sleek and modern look.
When it comes to furniture, perhaps the greenest of all are those pieces that are second-hand. From antiques at Sotheby’s to the rickety chair at a car-boot sale, it comes at every price and level of desirability.
Furniture can also be made of recycled elements, by inspired use of waste material or just made from local and sustainable materials, using energy efficient processes and recyclable at their life’s end.
Seating made from recycled paper and recycled wood waste, chandeliers made from exploded party-poppers or how about flooring and storage boxes made from the waste created in the production of flipflops?
Not all eco-friendly construction materials and home furnishings are practical and not all will suit everyone’s taste and style, but I hope this provides a taster of the countless choices available, and that in the 21st century you don’t have to compromise on style, luxury or aesthetics to be green.
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