Abstract
Environmental protection is an important issue in modern society. Most construction demolition wastes cannot be easily decomposed, thus occupying a lot of space in landfill. Reducing the demand for new resources is an efficient approach to decrease the environmental burden. Most green buildings are made from reused and recycled materials. Although there are a variety of green building materials available on the market, there is no material, as yet, with thermochromic functionality. This study used a form of face bricks, and six recovered materials, including wood chips, iron powder, fallen leaves, concrete, newspaper, and silt, to make smart green building materials. The modules were made in accordance with Taiwan’s green building material regulations. The discoloration efficiency of indoor and outdoor green building materials was tested, and the RGB (red, green, blue) values of the face bricks were measured by a color analyzer to observe the discoloration effect. The findings show that among the A, B, C, and D groups, Group D exhibited the optimal rate of change in color, and the rates of change in the six recycled waste materials of indoor Group D were wood chips > newspaper > fallen leaves > concrete > iron powder > silt, while the rates of change in the outdoor group were newspaper > wood chips > fallen leaves. This study successfully reused waste materials to reduce the environmental burden, achieve sustainable environmental protection, and ensure both the aesthetics and quality of the building materials. The results of this study can offer an alternative choice to architects or space designers when selecting green building materials.
Highlights
While increased attention is being paid to environmental issues in current times, the issue of the waste reused and recycled has been widely discussed
In Europe, construction demolition waste accounts for approximately 25–30% of all waste generated in the European Union (EU), and the EU requested that its members reuse or recycle construction demolition waste to achieve 70% recycling rates by 2020 [3]
The hybrid recycling of green building materials and the use of different industrial or domestic general wastes according to the items of building materials and usable waste materials showed that the recycling of green building materials had a blending ratio [10]
Summary
While increased attention is being paid to environmental issues in current times, the issue of the waste reused and recycled has been widely discussed. In China, construction and demolition waste accounts for about 30–40% of total waste production, and there is a large potential demand for recycled material [1]. Taiwan’s highly developed social economy and city construction have led to a large amount of construction waste every year, and effective recovery systems are needed for the proper use of these wasted resources [4]. Reuse, recycling, and reduction of the use of construction materials is the most effective way to solve the waste problem [6], and developing competitive recycled materials could benefit the construction industry. Many landfills are at full capacity, and the high cost of fees increases the need to create a sustainable-resource construction industry [7]. The hybrid recycling of green building materials and the use of different industrial or domestic general wastes according to the items of building materials and usable waste materials showed that the recycling of green building materials had a blending ratio [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
