The project takes advantage of ash from a 2021 eruption on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.
In 2021, La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent erupted.
Heavy volcanic ash blanketed much of the island, covering streets, yards, and farm fields. And it caused structural damage to thousands of homes.
Now people are using some of that volcanic ash to help rebuild.
“We looked at, well, how can we use this waste material to reduce some of the reconstruction cost?” says Andy Stofleth, executive director for the Caribbean region at SBP, a disaster recovery nonprofit.
His group is partnering with the government of Saint Vincent on a pilot project to manufacture concrete blocks made partly from volcanic ash.
Typical concrete is made using cement in a process that generates a lot of carbon pollution.
The concrete that Stofleth’s group developed requires 15% less cement. And it’s cheaper because it uses locally abundant waste material instead.
“By building something small-scale and local, using a resource that’s readily available … we’re reducing transportation costs, we’re reducing emissions,” Stofleth says.
So he says it could be an affordable and sustainable approach to rebuilding communities damaged by volcanic eruptions.
by
July 21, 2023
Originally published by Yale Climate Connections
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By: Yale Climate Connections
Yale Climate Connections is a nonpartisan, multimedia service providing daily broadcast radio programming and original web-based reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate change, one of the greatest challenges and stories confronting modern society.
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