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Edinburgh – A Scottish startup company has created a recycled building brick that is made almost entirely of construction waste. The brick generates less than a tenth of the carbon emissions of a regular brick.

Kenoteq, a Scottish startup company, has launched the K-Briq – a sustainable brick that is made of 90 per cent construction and demolition waste. Because the bricks do not require firing, they produce a tenth of the carbon emissions of regular bricks, according to an article in design magazine Dezeen.

The recycled brick was conceived by engineering professor Gabriela Medero at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh to reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. It will be used to build this year’s Serpentine Pavilion in London. 

"I have spent many years researching building materials and have been concerned that modern construction techniques exploit raw materials without considering that they are amongst the largest contributors to carbon emissions," Medero told Dezeen. "The amount of waste they produce is not sustainable long-term."

Kenoteq, which Medero co-founded, has now put the bricks into commercial production. They look and behave like clay bricks, according to Medero, and are available in any colour.