Abstract
Take-back and reuse schemes of bricks reclaimed from end-of-life buildings could reduce the environmental impacts of the brick industry. This study assesses the practical viability and environmental impacts of reclaiming fired perforated clay bricks bonded with cement-based mortar from a brick veneer. The life-cycle assessment is executed according to European Standard EN 15804 across 19 environmental impact categories using empirical Finnish case study data. Two deconstruction methods were analysed: hand-held power tools, which yields more intact bricks, but is labour intensive; and an excavator, which yields 40% fewer bricks but is easier to adopt by the industry. Regardless of the method, reclaimed bricks have only 20% of the total environmental impact of virgin bricks and outperform them in all relevant impact categories. Given emerging European Union climate regulations for buildings, global warming potential (GWP) is of particular interest. In comparison with virgin bricks, reclaimed bricks have 86–88% lower fossil-based GWP and 94–95% lower total GWP. While some limitations follow from the case study design, the environmental benefit is so substantial that reclaimed bricks can reliably be deemed as ultra-low-carbon construction products. Transport is the main fossil GWP contributor, but reclaimed bricks remain environmentally competitive even over extensive transport distances.
PRACTICE RELEVANCE
Most modern brick buildings were built using cement-based mortars. Previous literature has considered such bricks as having a low potential for reclamation. This study challenges this belief, as such bricks could be reclaimed at high rates from a brick veneer. Brick reclamation was also found to be possible using an excavator. Contrary to previous beliefs, modern brick building stocks can thus form substantial ‘urban mines’ for brick reclamation. Reclaiming bricks does not necessarily require substantial changes to existing building decommissioning practices, which lowers the adoption threshold for current demolition industry operators. Bricks reclaimed with an excavator have a low environmental impact compared with new bricks. Several European Union member states are introducing environmental regulations that incorporate greenhouse gas benchmarks for buildings, and this is increasing demand for low-carbon construction products. Reclaiming bricks for reuse can be a viable option for this, both practically and environmentally.