by Jackson Thurlow, Island Block & Paving

It’s easy being green with Island Block & Paving

By Jackson Thurlow, Victorian Area Manager, Island Block & Paving

With a focus on sustainability, the Victorian government is contributing to environmental efforts which help the community respond to climate change in a positive way.

One example of this is the Victorian Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP). It is an Australian-first and places Victorians at the cutting edge of resource recovery.

The plan outlines the recovery and reuse of Victoria’s limited natural resources within the supply chain, inspiring innovative technologies delivering economic value. The plan aims for a recycling system which reprocesses and uses recycled materials, reducing the need for raw materials and sending less waste to landfill.

An important point to emphasise is that, with innovation and process, recycled products can be used to not only assist our environment, but value-add by offering uniqueness and alternatives to conventional materials, the manufacturing of which can detrimentally impact our environment.

An example of this is the use of recycled waste-container glass in the manufacturing of concrete masonry products. In simple terms, instead of using raw materials, such as quartz sand in production, an ‘engineered glass sand’ is substituted. The engineered glass sand is made from clean container glass crushed to the same microns as the natural sand it is replacing. The container glass is collected from kerbside recycling centres and, if not used in masonry manufacture, the glass ends up as part of the thousands of tonnes of the material sent to landfill annually. Specifying masonry products into building projects to encompass environmental benefits has never been easier. Island Block & Paving manufactures the only certified Global Greentag range of bricks, building blocks, retaining wall systems and pavers. Protected by patent, these innovative products are trademarked as ‘Sustainable Products for the Future’. Products have no additional cost imposts over other masonry products, allowing industry professionals to specify them without additional costs.

The ‘Sustainable Products for the Future’ range includes four main product lines: Bricks for the Future; Blocks for the Future; Pavers for the Future; and the Freestone ECO retaining wall system. All products are available in on-trend colours such as whites, mid-greys and blacks. Among the features of the range are unique surface characteristics achieved in bricks, blocks and pavers made with the engineered glass sand. High-end shotblasted, refined and polished finishes up to a 420 grit are available to highlight the feature aggregates within. These finishes are accentuated in sidelight. A free door-to-door sample service is available Australia-wide for designers who would like project-specific samples for their clients.

Island Block & Paving is at the forefront of innovation. All products from the ‘Sustainable Products for the Future’ range up to the only 240mm-wide building block available within Australia, and manufactured under the company’s quality management systems to ISO:9001:2015.

Island Block & Paving. No one knows Blocks & Pavers better. islandblock.com.au/victoria/

Go to https://www.designmatters.org.au/Webinars to listen to the recording of Island Block & Paving at the Design Matters National InspoExpo on 4 October 2021 at 2PM.

For more information, call 1800 004 499, email jthurlow@islandblock.com.au, or drop into 8 Metrolink Court, Campbellfield VIC 3061.

We use recycled waste-container glass in the manufacturing of concrete masonry products. In simple terms, instead of using raw materials, such as quartz sand in production, an ‘engineered glass sand’ is substituted.