Kenoteq, a Scottish, spin-off company from Heriot-Watt University, has launched its sustainable building brick made from 90 percent construction waste coined, the K-Briq.
The idea was invented over a decade ago by Heriot-Watt’s Professor Gabriela Medero and is Kenoteq’s very first product.
“We hope K-Briq will support the sustainability ambitions of today’s construction industry,” Medero says in a statement.
“I have spent many years researching building materials and have been concerned that modern construction technique exploits raw materials without considering that they are amongst the largest contributors to carbon emissions. The amount of waste they produce is not sustainable long-term.”
“The K-Briq looks like a normal brick, weighs the same and behaves like a clay brick, but offers better insulation properties.”
Dr Sam Chapman, a colleague of Medero at Kenoteq, adds, “Kenoteq was invested in machinery that can produce three million bricks per year. In the past year, we’ve produced thousands of bricks and put them through rigorous testing, with the K-Briq now commercially available to construction clients.”
“The Scottish government has set very high targets for housebuilding with 50,000 new homes earmarked for construction in the next three years. We hope Kenoteq will be part of those homes.”
“The company has now signed an agreement with Hamilton’s Waste & Recycling to produce the K-Briq on site at the recycling centre, thus cutting carbon emissions and transport miles.”
