The agricultural industry generates a massive amount of waste.

Even if we discount the nearly 1 billion metric tons of food that goes to waste each year, producing enough food to feed several billion people also creates an enormous amount of material dubbed “agro-waste.”

This is the leaf litter and crop residues left behind after a harvest and the animal manure generated by the livestock industry. And it adds up fast. Traditionally, agro-waste ended up in landfills, but in addition to filling up space better used for other waste, it also releases methane – a harmful greenhouse gas – as it biodegrades.

The construction industry has opened up a more sustainable option for disposing of agro-waste. How can construction companies utilize agro-waste?

Looking Back to Move Forward

Using agricultural waste in construction isn’t a new idea. One of the first human-made construction materials was the sun-dried brick. Using a mixture of clay and water, early humans could create bricks for building homes, businesses, and places of worship.

The problem with clay bricks is that they have the potential to crack or shrink while they dry. Additionally, once bricks are cracked or missing, entire structures can be compromised and pose a safety hazard.

Adding fibers – in this case, straw – made the bricks stronger and helped to hold the material together as it dried. This construction method dates back to 9,000 BC. Our construction methods have evolved beyond clay bricks, but the need for fibers or other stabilizing materials continues. That need is something we could now fill with agro-waste.

Types of Usable Agro-Waste

Most of the crops grown by the agricultural industry are annuals. This means they are planted in the spring and only live for a single growing season. The foliage they create during the growing season ends up as waste once farmers come through to harvest.

Other crops generate waste after processing. Sugar cane stalks are pressed for their sugary syrup, then discarded. The outer hulls of coconuts and rice husks fall in the same category.

Common types of agro-waste that are making their way into the construction industry include:

• Sawdust from the lumber industry
• Oil-palm shells
• Coconut shells and husks
• Groundnut shells
• Cork waste, bamboo leaf, and sugarcane bagasse ash
• Rice husk ash

These materials can all be mixed with cement or even turned into new materials. Sugarcane bagasse, for example, can be pressed into a durable fiberboard comparable to particleboard or MDF.

This list doesn’t contain every possible type of agro-waste, but it does begin to paint a picture of the potential these materials possess. These materials would otherwise be discarded, and while they won’t become a replacement for things like steel, they could very quickly help change the way we look at construction materials.

Making Construction More Sustainable

The construction industry is one of the biggest in the world and one of the most wasteful. In 2018, construction and demolition projects generated more than 145 million tons of waste in the form of wood, drywall, asphalt, and more.

Unless construction companies are careful, it can also be very destructive, decimating habitats and destroying ecosystems. These, paired with the industry’s reliance on diesel fuel to power its heavy equipment, make it unsustainable.

Introducing agro-waste can help make the construction industry more sustainable in the long run. Instead of creating materials that end up in landfills, adopting sustainable materials such as those made with agro-waste can help to reduce the waste the industry generates. Many of these materials can also be recycled – either turned into new construction materials or recycled into compost or even animal feed – depending on other components used in their creation.

Building a Greener Future

Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, especially with the threat of climate crisis looming ever closer. The construction industry is vital, but changes are necessary to help make it more sustainable. Using agro-waste is one piece of the puzzle that will help the construction industry build a greener future.

Author Bio:

Jane is the editor-in-chief of Environment.co where she covers green technology, sustainable building and environmental news.