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Housing association to become first in UK to build plastic-free homes
A West Midlands housing association has outlined plans to build 12 virtually plastic-free homes in the first project of its kind in the UK.
Accord Housing Association will minimise plastic use during the construction process by reducing the amount of plastic used in building materials and using alternatives when it comes to fitting the kitchens, bathrooms and windows.
The houses will be built using modern methods of construction in Accord’s offsite manufacturing facility LoCaL Homes.
While one-off attempts have been made to build a plastic-free home before, Accord believe this is the first time it has been done at scale.
Funded by Interreg Europe, the project is part of the Circular Housing Asset Renovation & Management partnership, which aims to promote a circular economy in the housing construction sector.
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Accord has started on the design work, which it aims to finish in January 2020, when development work will then commence.
Carl Taylor, assistant director of new businesses at Accord, said: “We particularly want to remove the plastic from the kitchens and the bathrooms because even though a house can last for a hundred years or more, the average kitchen and bathroom is changed every few years and we are keen to avoid generating plastic waste.
“This trans-European project will enable us to work with our European partners to identify plastic-free building products. We haven’t yet got a plastic-free solution to the electrics for instance, but we will be challenging people in the building products manufacturing industry to help us find solutions.”
Alan Yates, deputy chief executive at Accord, said: “Accord continues to lead the way in innovation as we prepare to build these virtually plastic-free homes.
“Our closed timber-framed houses have allowed us to build on low-carbon housing development and we have developed technology to build low-carbon houses – now it is about taking that technology a step forward to reduce the use of materials that are not good for the environment both during manufacture and construction and for years to come.
“This project will change how we manufacture our homes forever.”
