The Waste House – Britains first rubbish home!

The Waste House – Reducing, Reusing and Recycling at its best!

Millions of tonnes of waste are taken to landfill every year, and although people are taking more care over separating waste and more waste is being recycled, we are still not at a stage where the recycling, reuse and disposal of waste is sustainable.

That’s where the good citizens of Brighton step in!  350 students helped architects and builders create a house made 90% of rubbish and discarded construction materials.  Some of the materials used include used carpet tiles, and in the walls are thousands of old video cases and toothbrushes acting as insulation.

The house is the first of its kind in the UK, and although there have been many other projects where sheds or other temporary items have been built out of waste and recycled goods, this is the first to get planning permission and meet building regulations.

The project aims to educate people on just how much we can reuse if we put our minds to it. The construction industries tend to have a high percentage of wasted product, as the current ethos is to buy excessive amounts of material to avoid having to wait around for materials when they run out.  Shockingly, for every 5 houses built, the equivalent of one house is thrown away in waste. whereas the only brand new elements in the waste house are the triple glazed windows, wiring and plumbing.

The 20,000 toothbrushes used as insulation were donated by a  company that cleans planes after long haul flights, with the vast majority of the toothbrushes being collected within just 4 days. The interesting insulation can be seen through various transparent sections of wall.

The waste house serves as an educational platform for the future of construction.  More than 750 primary school visited the house during the 12 month construction period, they were shown around the house and attended presentations to highlight the themes and issues relating to waste and sustainability.

The house is now available to schools, colleges and other community groups for educational and ‘green’ events. There are also workshops run regularly by the those involved with the creation of the house.

The waste house is undoubtedly  impressive, and hopefully this will inspire others to salvage and reuse what they can before buying.  It hopes to teach and encourage more sustainable design and practice and prove that one man’s trash really can be another man’s treasure.

Find out more about the Waste House here.

We can’t build you a house from your waste but we can certainly remove and dispose of it responsibly for you! If you need a skip visit us at FindaSkip or call us on 0800 019 4530