Demolition rocks!

Laser technology enables building materials re-use Pink Floyd, eat your heart out. Lasers have broken free of the 1980s rock arena and could be put to good use in the equally ear-splitting world of demolition. Techsafe Consultants, in conjunction with Professor Lin Li of the Laser Research Process Centre at UMIST, are researching a quieter, more environmentally friendly demolition process that allows building materials to be re-used. Lasers cut through high strength mortars, a robotic arm lifts off the bricks without damage, and lasers combined with high pressure water cleaning remove the old mortar from the bricks. The team has applied for a Carbon Trust grant, with the long-term ambition of building a 100- home eco-village on an urban demolition site. Philip Bland of Techsafe explains: “Reusing bricks on the same site makes sense because it avoids the problems of waste disposal, and the cost of manufacturing new ones and transporting them to the site.” Construction and demolition waste accounts for almost a quarter of total UK waste by weight. Although 90% of demolition waste is recycled, mainly for roadfill, new bricks and other building materials are energy intensive to manufacture. - Esther Maughan

7 July 2004

Esther Maughan McLachlan