The indexes of recyclability for an applied commercial container unit

World Congress and Expo on Recycling

July 20-22, 2015 Barcelona, Spain

Luiz Henrique Maccarini Vefago and Fernando Barth

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Environ Anal Toxicol

Abstract :

It is well known that reserves of non-renewable resources are limited and that waste emitted into the air, soil and earth pollute the environment. In addition to proposing a change in the architectsâ?? way of thinking, the climate change further requires an improvement in the environment, politics and social consciousness. The chase for sustainable architecture must also consider the end of the life cycles of materials. The aim of this work is to analyze the indexes of recyclability of different commercial units made of steel shipping containers and compare to the same commercial unit made of perforated bricks with mortar cladding and concrete structure. The indexes of recyclability introduce new concepts regarding materials and building elements that reach the end of their first life cycle. The research method is based on a hierarchic upside down pyramid that gives priority to the reuse and recycling of materials in the design and deconstruction phases and afterwards allows for the creation of recyclability levels of the materials and elements. The results show that the commercial units made of steel shipping containers present higher indexes of recyclability than the conventional way of construction with bricks. This is caused by the high amount of steel reused in the containers and the higher value given to the reuse materials category than the others. On the other hand, the perforated bricks unit uses virgin materials for its fabrication and these bricks cannot be segregated without damage. In this context, the recyclability of containers allows a sustainable way to design and construct buildings, and it is a step forward to the closed-loop material cycle.