Builders swap cement for hemp to cut pollution

[Eugene]

Source: Bloomberg

Builders swap cement for hemp to cut pollution

By: Bloomberg News August 30, 2019 3:36 pm

The hemp fields sprouting in a part of Canada best known for its giant oil patch show how climate change is disrupting the construction industry.

Six years after setting up shop in the shadow of Calgary’s oil patch, Mac Radford, 64, says he can’t satisfy all the orders from builders for Earth-friendly materials that help them limit their carbon footprints. His company, JustBioFiber Structural Solutions, is on the vanguard of businesses using hemp — the boring cousin of marijuana devoid of psychoactive content — to mitigate the greenhouse gases behind global warming.

Around the world, builders are putting modern twists into ancient construction methods that employ the hearty hemp weed. Roman engineers used the plant’s sinewy fibers in the mortar they mixed to hold up bridges. More recently, former White House adviser Steve Bannon weighed in on using so-called hempcrete to build walls. Early results indicate it’s possible to tap demand for cleaner alternatives to cement.

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Cement makers are responsible for about 7% of global carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere every year, with copious volumes entering via limestone kilns needed to produce the material. Manufacturers say they’ve struggled to find markets for greener alternatives, giving easy entree to entrepreneurs like Radford who cater to customers concerned about their impact on the Earth.

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Read more: https://finance-commerce.com/2019/08/builders-swap-cement-for-hemp-to-cut-pollution/

[Me.]

1. Thank God

[JudyM]

2. Thanks for this post, Eugene.

First I’ve heard of it. Encouraging news. Too bad JustBioFiber is privately held though!