Recycled Brick Made of Construction Waste is Awarded '1m Funding

A business has been awarded''1 million in funding by Zero Waste Scotland to commercialise the production of its brick made of recycled construction waste, the'K-Briq, to more than two million bricks per year.

The multi-award-winning'K-Briq'is made from over 90 per cent'recycled'demolition and construction waste materials. It'produces'a'tenth'of the'CO2'emissions'of a traditional fired brick and requires'less than a tenth'of the energy in its manufacture.

The funding will allow the company to'create 15 new jobs'over the next five'years in manufacturing,'production, quality assurance, marketing and sales'roles. By scaling'production, Kenoteq will enable the'construction industry'to deliver the'equivalent of 924 low carbon homes over a'five-year period.

The K-Briq was conceived by'Professor Gabriela Medero from Heriot-Watt University following more than a'decade of'research and development into'creating'innovative, low-carbon'products'from recycled construction waste. Professor Medero'is the Co-founder and Technical Director of Kenoteq, which'launched in January'2020.

The Circular Economy Investment Fund, administered by Zero'Waste Scotland with funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the'Scottish Government, offers investment for SMEs based in Scotland and supports innovative'work that will deliver circular economy growth.

By re-using valuable recycled materials from construction'and demolition waste, Kenoteq has achieved a circular-economy exemplar and will'lead the'delivery of a circular economy revolution for the construction sector.

Sam Chapman, Managing Director,'Kenoteq'said: 'The construction'industry'faces a tremendous challenge'when'meeting'decarbonisation'goals. The'industry sends over 800 million tonnes of waste to'landfill in Europe every year,'at a huge cost to itself and the'environment.?In the UK,'construction'and the built environment accounts for approximately 50 per cent of'all waste generated in Scotland.

'The K-Briq'presents an opportunity for the construction sector to'reduce'landfill, limit'reliance on finite resources'and take advantage of'waste'materials to'create a more sustainable and ecologically viable'built'environment. The K-Briq'slashes energy use, both in its manufacturing process and'also once in'use'as it has'double'the insulation properties of existing bricks and blocks. By using recycled pigments, it can be made in a range of'colours'providing flexibility to'architects and design'planners.

'With this funding, we will'scale the manufacturing capacity from a pilot plant to industrial-scale'production through development of a new'manufacturing line in Scotland. We will'then create a template for the provision of production systems to selected waste'handling partners across'Scotland and the UK.'

Iain'Gulland, Chief Executive at Zero Waste Scotland continued: 'Kenoteq's'innovation'aligns perfectly with our goal of'supporting'Scotland's circular'economy by'using'products and'resources responsibly. The current 'take, make, dispose' approach is'unsustainable.

'Construction relies heavily on finite'resources and presents huge potential for circular economy interventions to'reduce demand for, and waste of,'virgin materials. Innovations like the K-Briq'can help to tackle climate change, deliver a more competitive Scottish economy,'mitigating resource'security and addressing the subject of corporate social'responsibility within the sector.

'As nations around the world'commit to'building'a greener future, the K-Briq presents an'achievable'solution for one of the construction industry's'greatest challenges. Kenoteq is'an excellent'example of the abundant'pioneering innovation in'Scotland which can help to'place us at the forefront of'the global circular economy'frontier.'

The Circular'Economy Investment Fund is part of Zero Waste Scotland's Resource Efficient'Circular Economy Accelerator Programme, which will'invest '73 million in circular'economy and resource efficiency projects, thanks to support from the European'Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Source: This Week In FM'