The plastic problem
Since just over 50 years ago, plastic materials have become a dominant feature of the built environment, being used to manufacture virtually everything, from pipes and cables to floor coverings, building wraps, doors and windows.
According to The UK Copper Sustainability Partnership, with its growing dependence on the material, the construction industry has contributed significantly to the rise of plastic consumption globally.
Here in NZ, efforts to reduce carbon emissions from buildings have led to significant quantities of materials containing plastics being used to lessen energy consumption through improved air tightness. Health Based Building says that an average new Kiwi home can include something like 40kgs of plastics in building wrap alone, which is a volume of plastic equivalent to 5,800 70-micron plastic bags. They also say that all up, an average Kiwi home can contain up to 500 kgs of plastics.
While it might be convenient for us to think that plastics locked away in homes won’t become an issue for the life of a building, let’s add the effects of climate change into the equation. Homes all over the planet are being regularly devastated and destroyed by weather, flooding and fire, releasing these toxic materials into our environment in various forms…
While the use of plastics in construction is currently unavoidable, our shared goal should be to minimise our use of plastics while building to minimise CO2 emissions. We firmly believe that minimising CO2 emissions should not mean sending toxic materials to landfill.
The Foreverbreathe specification used by Premium Homes ticks the boxes.
Improved airtightness is achieved without plastic wraps
Natural materials provide a healthy, toxin-free living space (and we’ll encourage you to measure it!)
Indoor humidity is managed without total reliance on mechanical ventilation.
Outdoor noise is blocked more readily
Natural building materials are genuinely recyclable at end-of-life
Homes are structurally stronger and more fire resistant – more able to weather the effects of climate change
