Sustainable Materials - Part 1: Grasscrete

Hey everyone!

After researching some sustianable materials for a project, I came across two interesting products, one was "Grasscrete" and the other was "Wool Bricks." For this post I will be talking about Grasscrete, and my next post will be about Wool Bricks. 

Grasscrete

What is Grasscrete?

Grasscrete is a type of concrete that infuses grass into it to create an open pattern of grass and concrete. This “helps to provide a benefit of reducing concrete usage overall, while also improving storm water absorption and drainage.” Grasscrete is “also massively used for projects in the water environment” such as reservoirs and storm/drainage channels.


 “Grasscrete is made by pouring concrete over ‘Formers’ which is a mold that leaves voids in the concrete [for the grass]. Grasscrete Formers come in two types. A re-usable plastic tool that is used only for fully grassed or concealed installations or the more common single-use Molded Pulp Former used for all Grasscrete types. The Molded Pulp is made up of 100% recycled paper sourced from both post industrial and post consumer waste streams.” ( http://inhabitat.com/11-green-building-materials-that-are-way-better-than-concrete/ )

A Cross-Section of Grasscrete

Advantages

• It is load bearing - up to 40 tonnes gross vehicle weight
• It resists differential settlement
• It reduces sub-base depths
• It eliminates curb edges
• No reliance on grass for stability 
• Optimal drainage capability

Disadvantages

• It is 30% more expensive than trusty old concrete.

Although being 30% more expensive might turn people away from buying grasscrete, using it “can eliminate or minimize the need for stormwater collection systems which may be a substantial savings.” 

( http://www.sustainablepavingsystems.com/faqs/what-is-the-installed-cost-for-grasscrete-vs-concrete/ )

Who sells Grasscrete? 

 A supplier of Grasscrete products is http://www.grasscrete.com/ . This company was formed in the United Kingdom in 1970, but they have international licensees and agents in over 25 different countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Turkey. They sell products for paving, grass roofing and walls.
They have many different products for paving, depending on what one might be looking for. These products include grassblock, grassroad, grasskerb, and of course grasscrete.
There are also many different types of wall products, depending on what one wants. These types include, Betoflor, Betoplus, Betoatlas, Leromur, Betotitan, and Binwall.


In my opinion I believe Grasscrete is an incredible product that should be used more often in construction.