Reducing the embodied carbon of clay brick packaging with bioplastic

When we consider net zero strategies in the construction industry, are we placing enough emphasis on plastic consumption?

According to Plastics Europe, in 2022 Europe converted 54 million tonnes of plastic into plastic products and parts. Building and construction accounted for 23 per cent of this usage. Many plastic products for construction (like doors and insulation) have long-term applications. Yet some applications solely involve packaging construction products to move from the manufacturer to the construction site.

Plastic recycling is improving — European producers’ use of recycled plastic has increased by almost a quarter since 2018. But, they still use fossil fuels to produce around 80 per cent of plastics. This reliance on crude oil and natural gases led to 2.24 gigatons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from plastic production in 2019. That’s nearly three times the aviation industry’s GHG emissions, making the construction industry’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions crucial. Reducing embodied carbon (the carbon emissions associated with material sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of a product) is a key strategy for meeting this commitment.

So, what are the factors driving plastic packaging consumption in the construction industry? And, how can bioplastic alternatives help companies reduce the additional embodied carbon associated with packaging their construction products? Read on to find out.

The role of plastic packaging in construction

When construction products like bricks leave the manufacturer, they need to withstand transportation, storage, and on-site logistics. Plastic packaging offers a cheap and effective means of product protection and safe handling. Its applications include:

• Shrink wraps and shrink hoods that protect products during transport, ensuring pack integrity and health and safety when in transit. The film also protects product quality from adverse weather and can ensure the products arrive in their optimal state for bricklaying on-site.
• Banded strips that give strength to the product pack, added in blades to increase the integrity of the pack form.
• Plastic film wrap for bespoke or prefabricated product shapes. This is because products like arches and lintels are more difficult to secure for transit than standard bricks.

In 2021, Michelmersh was the first clay brick manufacturer to commit to eliminating non-essential plastics that health and safety and product quality standards deem unnecessary. As part of that commitment, the company phased out shrink wraps and shrink hoods for the majority of wire-cut brick products across their portfolio of brands.

Michelmersh are proud that they can already demonstrate the possibilities for construction product manufacturers. But, they know there are still legitimate barriers to avoiding fossil-fuelled plastic packaging usage altogether.

The barriers to replacing plastic packaging in construction

Transitioning away from fossil-fuelled plastic packaging for construction products is not without challenges. Regulations and commercial realities mean alternatives need to meet certain requirements. These include:

• Functionality and quality: Can alternative solutions perform to the standard of fossil-fuelled plastics? Will they be as easy to use and as hardwearing?
• Health and safety: Can new materials meet regulatory standards to ensure their safety for use in a high-risk environment like construction?
• Time and investment: Are the new materials economically viable? Can the suppliers of alternatives keep up with construction product manufacturing and logistics schedules? There is also a psychological aspect to consider. Fossil-fuelled plastics have long been a part of how we work and live. So, we need to educate users to help overcome initial uncertainty about alternatives.

How Michelmersh is tackling the plastic packaging problem

The company already shared their progress in reducing plastic packaging for their products. But, they’ve now taken another big step towards their plastic elimination commitment—by introducing sugarcane-based plastic alternatives.

In collaboration with an award-winning plastics company in Hereford, UK, they are adopting innovative new bioplastic packaging made with 70 per cent sugarcane polymer. The remaining 30 per cent is recycled plastic, due to the current criteria for the UK’s Plastic Tax. But, the packaging is still fully recyclable and, importantly, carbon negative.

To be precise, creating a polymer (the material plastics are made from) using sugarcane prevents 2.27 net tonnes of carbon emissions per tonne of plastic. This is compared to a fossil fuel polymer, which produces 3.1 net tonnes of carbon emissions per tonne of plastic.

Why sugarcane?

Unlike fossil fuels, sugarcane is a renewable resource. But, sugarcane is also excellent at sequestering carbon. The crop draws in carbon dioxide from the surrounding air for photosynthesis. Then, it releases the oxygen and stores the carbon that’s left over from the process.

The sugarcane-based plastic that Michelmersh are using starts life on sustainable sugarcane plantations in Brazil that don’t infringe on rainforests—on average, they’re over 2000km away. It’s the bio-ethanol you can extract from sugarcane fibres that forms the basis of their bioplastic packaging. But, every part of the plant is usable, yielding three co-products. These are sugar, bio-ethylene, and bagasse, the last of which powers the sugarcane processing facility and is turned into large volumes of biofuel.

To create plastic with sugarcane bio-ethanol, producers convert it into ethylene, the building block of all plastics. Then, just like ethylene derived from fossil fuels, they turn the ethylene into a polymer. This sugarcane polymer is identical to fossil fuel polymer on a molecular level, meaning it has all the same properties. Their plastics partner uses high-grade sugarcane polymer, so in some cases, it proves to be more durable and adaptable, as well as fully recyclable.

Looking to the future

Using inventive packing methods, Michelmersh have already significantly reduced their reliance on plastic packaging without compromising product quality or health and safety. Where they do deem plastic packaging to be necessary, they are re-evaluating usage across their portfolio and against their sustainability principles. The company are now looking at how soon they can swap out their current packaging for the sugarcane-based alternative, after identifying those first opportunities. In fact, they have already been able to start rolling it out to some of their brands:

• Hathern Terracotta has been using the sugarcane-based alternative packaging since January 2024.
• Freshfield Lane will start using sugarcane-based plastic packaging for all its products from June 2024.

Making the change to sugarcane-based packaging is just part of the company's commitment to eliminating fossil-fuelled plastics and reducing their products’ embodied carbon. Michelmersh are also looking at ways they can support merchants and end users to ensure more plastic is recycled on-site. This includes providing training resources and best practice guidance notes through the Brick Development Association. And beyond plastic, they are continuing to explore ways to decarbonise operations. If you’d like to learn more about how they are making clay bricks an even more sustainable choice, download their Annual Report here.

To explore further or to download BIM objects from Michelmersh, simply join bimstore for free access to their products and accompanying literature. For additional insights, visit their manufacturer profile on bimstore, their company website or socials.