- Only one fifth of glass produced globally is recycled glass
- The new technology is fire-safe, and offers many more benefits
- The product is a collaboration between RMIT and industry
A Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) and Livefield collaboration has resulted in a new Australian-made building cladding that successfully tackles sustainability, cost, and other challenges all in one go.
The fire-safe building cladding uses a significant amount of recycled glass, taking millions of tonnes of reusable glass out of landfill every year.
Creating a circular economy
The building cladding developed by RMIT and Livefield is showing promise as a circular-economy solution to address glass waste.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Dilan Robert said: “Glass is one of the most recyclable materials in the world as it doesn’t lose its quality or purity, and it can be recycled for multiple uses across a wide range of industries.”
“By using high amounts of recycled glass in building claddings, while ensuring they meet fire safety and other standards, we are helping to find a solution to the very real waste challenge.”
Globally, about 130 million tonnes of glass are produced each year, but only 21% of that is recycled glass.
This new cladding comprises 83% recycled glass, along with relatively low amounts of plastic binders and fire-retardant additives.
Associate Professor Robert said their special blend of materials overcame the challenges with glass claddings, which were brittle and prone to fracture, as the plastic binders provided “improved toughness”.
“Experiments have proven that our claddings are fire-safe, water-resistant and cheap, and meet structural and environmentally sustainable requirements,” said Associate Professor Robert from RMIT’s School of Engineering.
The technology has met the key compliance requirement of claddings for non-combustibility (AS1530.1) set by Standards Australia.
The technology, which is now being patented by Livefield, has been trialled for large-scale manufacturing capability.
Panels using the team’s technology are installed at RMIT’s Bundoora campus to demonstrate the technology’s feasibility as building claddings.
“Livefield is keen to upscale the manufacturing process of the recycled glass composite cladding, with further research support from RMIT,” Associate Professor Robert said.
Creating fire-safe building cladding
Finding a fire-safe solution was also paramount.
“Claddings play a key role in preventing the spread of fire, particularly in high-rise buildings,” Associate Professor Robert said.
“Some of the most catastrophic building fires, like the 2017 Grenfell tower fire in London that led to many deaths and injuries, have been attributed to the poor fire-prevention performance of cladding materials.”
These tragic events underscored the importance of understanding and designing fire-resistant cladding materials and systems for the building and construction sector, Associate Professor Robert said.
“Building fires can happen anywhere at any time and cannot be predicted. Therefore, fire safety requirements should be embedded in the design of buildings.”
Associate Professor Robert led the project with support from RMIT colleagues Dr Edwin Baez, Associate Professor Everson Kandare, Professor Sujeeva Setunge and Professor Kevin Zhang.
