Not just another brick in the wall

February 2007

A new range of ‘eco bricks’ for the construction industry is not only conserving natural mineral resources but demonstrating how industrial symbiosis – the exchange of resources – can change the way we think about business and reduce industrial impact on the environment.

Akristos, a Staffordshire based company, have been working with National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the West Midlands Region to develop their range of ‘eco-bricks’, which contain ~20% of recycled content and ensure that between 8 and 16,000 tonnes of waste is diverted from landfill each year.

NISP is a free business opportunity programme that helps companies improve the management of their resources, by facilitating links between industries from different sectors. NISP achieves competitive advantage through the physical exchange of materials, energy, water and/or by-products, together with collaboration on the shared use of assets, logistics and expertise.

Using the principles of industrial symbiosis, NISP has achieved impressive industry results, making cost savings to UK industry of over £47 million.

NISP West Midlands is one of the most mature of the NISP regions and has been operating since September 2003. The West Midlands region currently has more than 600 members and engages traditionally separate industries and organisations in a collective approach.

Akristos has been working with NISP since the programme began, with NISP identifying industrial by-products from a wide range of companies from its national networks of members who could supply Akristos with alternative raw materials. The first collaboration involved a project which saw Akristos investigate the potential of incinerated bone ash as a brick making material.

Working with NISP, Akristos then developed the technology to create construction materials from a variety of industrial by-products including, clay, water treatment residues, glass cullet and industrial ashes. They are producing between 5 and 10 million bricks, which is generating income and ensuring a reduction in demand for primary brick making material and reducing energy consumption to manufacture bricks.

The ‘eco-bricks’ contain ~20% recycled content, and have equivalent, if not better, physical properties and durability characteristics when compared to traditional bricks and also conform to BS 3921 and EN771-1 standards. The surface colours and textures are developed using recycled minerals and aggregates.

NISP continues to work with Akristos helping them to source waste producers. Akristos is evolving the eco brick range as reprocessing methods advance and is also looking at expanding the family of products to include roof and floor tiles, aggregates and plasterboard. Akristos is currently testing other materials to develop the range, which include windscreen glass cullet, pulverised fuel ash and WTR’s from car manufacturers.

For find out more about NISP visit www.nisp.org.uk/

For further information please contact Claire Brown at Seal Communications on 01743 234 224