Today people know the importance of reducing how much waste their projects generate. The idea is to protect the environment and save resources. Some even aim to make their project zero waste, but is that possible? We want to have a look at it today. Then, if you need help with residential architecture in London, you can speak to us.

A key focus

The most common thing people do to reduce waste is look at recycling. While that can be a really great idea, it is incredibly difficult to achieve zero waste with it alone. Some materials simply aren’t recyclable. Some are but the cost and amount of energy it takes makes it unpopular.

A better thing to do here is design waste out of a project from the outset. There are many different ways to achieve that. The key one is to choose materials and products that won’t become waste in the future. Only select things that won’t ever make it to landfill. Establish that they will have another use at the end of their lifecycle in the structure.

Four options

One of the best things with regards to zero waste is you can combine four different approaches to achieve it. Impressively, they all begin with the letter R. You can use each of them with residential architecture in London and other projects.

Firstly, you can reduce the amount of materials you use. A lot of projects generate waste because they don’t effectively calculate what they need. Ordering a few extra bricks may not seem like much, but if every project does it and they all end up in landfill, that is a massive waste. The best thing to do is ensure you size the building correctly and order accurate amounts of materials. You should even consider packaging, ensuring it won’t become waste.

Next is recycling. As we said above, it generally can’t make projects zero waste by itself. But, it can go a long way. You should be choosing materials that are easily recyclable. It is a good idea to consider every aspect of this, including the amount of energy it will take to recycle them.

Thirdly is rebuying. A crucial way to tackle waste at a local level is to use materials that are available locally, especially when they have been recycled. Projects should always work to limit how far products have to travel to get to the site.

Finally is reuse. Easily the best thing you can do to ensure projects are zero waste is to make the buildings reusable. This is generally easier with homes. What you can do is design them so they can be adapted and upgraded in the future. Plus, choose materials with a long lifecycle. A great design here means there should never be a need to demolish the building.

Speak to us about residential architecture in London

Coffey Architects is the ideal company to work with if you are looking to reduce waste on a project. We can create the most innovative designs to make this a reality. It can combine the four approaches above and even look at new methods to help the environment.

So, if you want help with residential architecture in London, speak to us. We are a responsible team and can work to protect the world by creating sustainable buildings.