Enter the vast world of reuse!
And how to better understand the subject by having a first view on reuse through short readings, an appetizer that takes the form of 7 introductory booklets to the world of reuse.
FutuREuse, a series of booklets produced by the partners of the FCRBE Interreg project, which cover the broad spectrum of reuse. They address the before, during and after, with useful information to guide and inspire working with reclaimed materials.
The FCRBE project says, "The booklets also highlight environmental benefits, clarify grey areas and frequently asked questions about best practices, while generating curiosity for a future where the use is reuse."
7 booklets:
The Environmental Impact of Reuse in the Construction Sector
Assessing the technical performance of reused building materials
Between patina and new skin, surface treatments of reused materials
Product or waste? Criteria for reuse
Building a roadmap. Strategy to encourage reuse in the construction sector
The city as a material reserve. Understanding urban deposit studies
Reuse is the new black. How reused materials have taken over the high fashion boutiques.
Let's go through the first booklet together, the one that sets the context and questions the environmental impact of reuse in the sector. In its 21 pages, the booklet addresses 4 points that allow us to understand the first step of reflection to take into account when we want to implement reuse in a project.
How can we measure the environmental impact of a reused material? This one passes by a Life Cycle Assessment, of which we find the general principles as well as the European framework for it. Previously, this analysis was only performed on new construction products and materials. Today, this analysis is important to implement for reuse materials. LCA is a tool to be approached in several steps and with a multitude of criteria. The arguments for reuse will be based on the development of this step, which we hear about in the second part of this booklet, illustrating with a concrete case: the case of wood-based materials.
Reuse would not be considered if it did not have some advantages, not only environmental ones. The third part compares reuse to recycling and the use of building materials in their new state. Again, this part is supported by concrete cases of reuse, the brick and the carpet.
The brochure closes with an evaluation of the points of attention related to the practice.
You can find the sheets in three different languages on the website of the FCRBE Interreg Project.
Author of the article: Confédération Construction Bruxelles-Capitale.
