Welcome to ecocentre ecohouse products

Recycling

Wherever possible recycled products were used in the EcoHouse construction.

Demolition

Construction and retro-fit projects make up a large percentage of urban landfill. Reusing as much as possible on site and recycling as much of the rest as possible can reduce this waste stream significantly. Recycling and appropriate waste disposal requires planning and labour. Successful and cost-effective recycling begins in the demolition stage. If strategies to sort and reclaim waste are not in place at this point considerably more labour will be required to prepare materials for reuse in the project.
(see www.ecorecycle.vic.gov.au)

Demolition stages

Interior, exterior, landscape, recycling photos

List of Reused Items in EcoHouse Project

• Kitchen sink, bench and cupboard carcass, oven
• Bathroom sinks and toilets
• Carpet
• Windows
• Doors and door jams
• Architraves and skirting boards
• Studs and noggins
• Bricks

Timber Products

The EcoHouse project selected recycled, reclaimed or plantation timbers for various areas and uses, as detailed below:

Decking and Pergola

The decking timber is Cypress Pine (Cupressus macrocarpa) a non-native species commonly grown for farm windbreaks. Yarra Timber Salvage sources and mills them for a multiple uses... suppliers>

The decking trim is made from recycled jarrah.

Weather Boards

In comparison to conventional milling techniques, "radial sawn" boards are produced with minimal off-cuts. The natural shape of the log is retained and the boards cut in wedges as opposed to conventional "rectangular" milling. Radial sawing allows the use of younger trees, making plantation timber a more economically viable option.

The EcoHouse weather-boards are of a native tree (Red Stringy-bark) that was reclaimed from an urban redevelopment. This timber was collected and milled by Bowerbird Timbers... suppliers>

Cabinetry

The joinery made from Brimsboard is plantation Hoop pine. Brimsboard is a low formaldehyde content particle-board. Many people use particle-board (chip-board) therefore it was seen as important to demonstrate the most sustainable product available.. .suppliers>

Bench Tops

The kitchen bench top is made from a dead Red Gum from a farm in South Australia. The tree was destined to be used for firewood but was salvaged by Nullabor Timber to become a beautiful bench top... suppliers>

Architraves and Skirtings

All the architraves and skirtings are made from plantation pine, or reused from the original building.

Non P.V.C.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride, often called 'vinyl') is the second most commonly used plastic in the world. It is also the most problematic for the environment throughout its lifecycle. It requires hazardous chemicals in production; releases harmful additives in use; and when disposed of, it creates toxic wastes. PVC production is increasing worldwide, despite the fact that safer, feasible alternatives currently exist for almost all PVC products.

For more information on PVC and its impacts check out: Greenpeace

The EcoHouse project used minimal quantities of PVCs. The original intent was to not use them at all but budgetary constraints and availability meant we had to compromise with some products. Some alternatives to PVC are contained in the following table.

Studs and Noggins

The timber for these are predominantly reused from the original building (simply de-nailed and recut), any extras were plantation pine.

Further information One Stop Timber Shop - tel. Andrew Walker-Morrison 0413 279 223 prior to selection.

Non-toxic Products

The EcoHouse has been built with very little in the way of toxic products (see contracts - non toxic products for specific definitions). This means that the adhesives, chipboard, preservatives and finishes have been selected through a process which determined the most sustainable and least toxic products in their range

Paints & Finishes

The paints, oils and varnishes are made from non-toxic, natural, organic ingredients. In particular the drying agents are made from Citrus peel, rather than the toxic drying agents used in conventional paints.

The Biopaints, oils and varnishes were produced by Bioproducts... suppliers>

Embodied Energy and Life Cycle Analysis

"Embodied energy" and "life cycle analysis" are two key determinants of sustainability. Some products may be seen to have high embodied energy and therefore could be considered as unsustainable. However, this needs to be weighed against the expected useful life of the product.

Embodied Energy

'Embodied energy' refers to the energy consumed in harvesting or extracting raw materials, processing, manufacturing, transporting and installing products.

The following checklist will assist if you are wanting to build using low embodied energy products:

• Is this product reused? - meaning little or no embodied energy (except for transporting product)
• Is it a substance grown (like timber or straw) and therefore has minimal embodied energy?
• If the product is made from virgin materials, is minimal processing involved in production - a good example of this would be mud bricks. Reducing the processing means less embodied energy?
• If the product is new, is it made from recycled materials, or materials that are a waste product from another process? This reduces the amount of embodied energy significantly as compared to virgin materials?
• Minimal use should be made of new aluminium, steel, concrete, ceramics or bricks as these products generally are high in embodied energy.
• Is the product produced locally? This reduced the energy involved in transport.

The EcoHouse project was designed and built with the aim of minimising embodied energy. For example we used low embodied energy concrete. Most cement has high embodied energy because of the high level of energy required to fire the lime that produces the cement. However we sourced cement (produced by Independent Cement) that has a 50% iron ore slag content - which is a waste product from iron ore mining.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) considers the entire life cycle of a product. This includes extraction or production or raw materials, manufacture, transport, longevity of the material and disposal. Product longevity is a key feature of LCA. Once it has fulfilled its expected function, can it be recycled or put to other uses?

Life cycle analysis involves the following questions:

·What is the product made of and how long might it be expected to achieve its desired purpose? For example a Galvanised steel tank close to the coast is likely to rust because of the increased salt in the environment so an alternative is needed. Another good example may be using recycled steel to construct a frame for your solar panel array rather than timber as timber will be degraded more quickly by the elements.

• Can the product fulfil more than function? Eg solar panels can also serve as eaves to shade the building.
• Is the product recyclable or will it ultimately be disposed to landfill?

For more info on embodied energy and LCA check out http://buildlca.rmit.edu.au/menu10.html
Or http://www.ab.deakin.edu.au/online/berg/main.htm