Yes, it is this time of the year again with the celebration of sustainability and its big feast at Ecobuild. I couldn't miss this so I went again this year.
Ecobuild is a gigantic exhibition and you can spend there days, but I only have time to run in Ecobuild alleys for a day. Running is the right word, especially when I started on the North side and fell in the solar panel ... trap... Why trap are you wondering... well, there were so many exhibitors of solar panels that I thought I would never be able to get out of it.
OK, it is good to see many solar panels business as it shows that more and more people are considering installing solar panels onto their roofs, but apart from the fact that above 90% of the solar panels are produced in China, so they need to be to be shipped, which means big carbon footprint.... etc...and the show is called Ecobuild and not "The solar panel feast"!
Anyway, there were many sorts of solar panels and also some solar tiles, which are tiles that can turn the light into electricity. When I asked what was the advantage of the solar tiles compared to the solar panels, the answer was that solar tiles are more robust in harsh weather conditions (ie strong wind) and I agreed that on nice dark slate roof it has an aesthetic advantage. It stays about 20% more expensive.
Yes, I said better looking on a dark slate roof...
I managed to get away from the solar panel field and met some interesting items that I wouldn't really expect in an exhibition called Ecobuild: electric cars and scooter
Even more surprising was this:
Why would such equipment be part of an exhibition about sustainability?
Anyway... It was with relief that I finally reached the first green roofs, at least some greenery and nature, that could truly make a change!
I am not talking about this guy who was saying that I could grow herbs (thyme, chives etc) on my roof... how easy would it be to get them from the roof every time you need some parsley...
I liked this presentation of a simple green roof:
I like green roofs and also green walls (inside and outside green walls). Not only are green walls beautiful, but also are good for the Indoor air quality. They could be compared to lungs filtering the air for your comfort.
It took me a little time to find something truly green: carpet recycling!
Tonnes of carpets are going into land field daily. The problem with carpets is that most of them are made of synthetic fibers and/or have a synthetic backing. They don't biodegrade easily and fill up land fields.
There is a new approach to carpets thanks to the Cradle to cradle concept, where manufacturer make a carpet in the view of being able to get it back at the end of the carpet life cycle, dismantle it and make a brand new one, saving land field and the use of new raw materials. These carpets are still a small part of the market, and carpet recycling of all the other "normal" carpets is pretty needed.
So I was extremely happy to see this stand talking about carpet recycling.
You can find their website: http://www.carpetrecyclinguk.com/
Of course my first question was can I recycle my carpets here in London? And the answer was that so far there were no recycling scheme in London... What a shame??? How could we push to make this happen and avoid carpets going into land fields...
Just next to the carpet stands was a young textile designer using fabric cut of the fashion industry and transforming it into lovely wall art.
Of course there is a process into transforming the cutting into something new, but the designer was very interested into creating the most natural process as possible. I wish the best future to this young textile designer and many other fantastic creations!
My photo doesn't do justice to this beautiful piece made of delicate flowers and butterflies. You can find her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erga-Design/299818690046216
Well this was my visit to Ecobuild. Of course there were many other stands about beautiful windows and doors, insulation systems, building staff....
And for those who couldn't find the right building material, there was an all inclusive solution, the Mongolian Yurt....
Emmanuelle Lemoine
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