Unlike other construction materials, brick are made from all-natural ingredients. They’re comprised of shale and clay, two substances found abundantly on our planet. This is why brick are both natural and sustainable—they don’t add anything unwelcome to our environment even if they’re abandoned. Instead, they can easily be used again as recycled material. Crushed bricks can provide natural mulch that doesn’t degrade or blow away. Old bricks can be reclaimed to assemble new buildings.
Brick is also a sustainable option for other reasons. First, they can withstand the wear and tear of a century. It’s estimated that bricks can survive for roughly one hundred years, but that might be a conservative figure considering that some of our most breathtaking structures have been around for thousands of years. Think of the Great Wall of China or the Roman aqueducts.
Brick’s long life span means that you won’t need to constantly update and repair your home over time. This not only saves costs, but it also cuts back on materials and waste. Brick build things that last, are maintenance-free and support the environment.
Another way in which brick is a green asset is the way it maintains energy for the home. Brick slowly absorbs and releases thermal energy, which means that it can keep your house cooler in the summer by decreasing the load on your air conditioner during the day. In the winter, it just does the opposite, retaining heat into the night hours that helps reduce heating bills. In this sense, brick can regulate temperature for your home, keeping you comfortable while minimizing the impact of heating systems and a/c units on our planet.