Environmental Benefits of Reclaimed Bricks | RBC – Reclaimed Brick Company

How Reclaimed Bricks Reduce Carbon, Waste, and Resource Use

Reclaimed bricks aren’t just visually appealing or ideal for matching heritage builds — they’re one of the most sustainable building materials available. In an era where construction is under growing pressure to reduce emissions, eliminate waste, and support circular resource use, reclaimed bricks offer a practical and proven solution.

This article explores the key environmental benefits of reclaimed bricks, from reduced embodied carbon and landfill diversion to their role in ESG strategies and BREEAM certification.

Reduced Embodied Carbon

One of the most significant environmental advantages of reclaimed bricks is their low embodied carbon. Unlike new bricks, which require resource extraction, clay processing, firing (at 1,000+ °C), and transport, reclaimed bricks are already manufactured and simply salvaged, cleaned, and reused.

Reusing bricks from demolition or surplus stock avoids the emissions associated with manufacturing and reduces transport if sourced locally. This can help dramatically reduce a project’s carbon footprint — a priority for both public and private developments targeting net zero.

Diverts Waste from Landfill

Every year, millions of bricks are discarded through demolition, often ending up in landfill. By choosing reclaimed bricks, you help extend the lifecycle of valuable materials that would otherwise go to waste.

Brick reuse also reduces the volume of rubble waste generated during demolition and supports responsible construction practices. This aligns closely with Waste and Materials categories in BREEAM and other green building certifications.

Contributes to the Circular Economy

The construction sector is increasingly shifting towards circular economy models — where materials are reused, repurposed, or recycled instead of discarded. Reclaimed bricks are a textbook example:

No new resources are extracted
Bricks are re-used without major reprocessing
Lifespan is extended across multiple building cycles

This supports industry-wide goals of decarbonisation, lower consumption, and sustainable development.

Helps Achieve BREEAM Credits

If you’re targeting BREEAM certification, reclaimed bricks can contribute credits in several categories:

Materials (MAT01): for using low-impact, reused materials
Waste (WST01/WST02): for reducing site waste and landfill contributions
Management (MAN02): for early-stage specification of sustainable materials

Projects using heritage or salvaged bricks — especially with traceable provenance and consistent batch quality — can gain recognition for both environmental performance and responsible sourcing.

Read: How Reclaimed Bricks Help Achieve BREEAM Certification

Long-Lasting and Durable

Reclaimed bricks are often salvaged from buildings that stood for 100 years or more. Their durability has been proven in real-world conditions, making them a robust and sustainable choice for new builds, extensions, garden walls, and commercial refurbishments.

Because they’ve already aged, they also tend to be more dimensionally stable and visually distinctive — reducing the need for artificial finishes or treatments that may contain VOCs or synthetic chemicals.

No Harmful Emissions or Treatments

Unlike some modern building materials that release VOCs (volatile organic compounds) or require chemical treatments, reclaimed bricks are naturally inert. They contain no synthetic additives, produce no toxic runoff, and remain safe to use in homes, schools, hospitals, and outdoor environments.

This makes them ideal for projects with health and wellbeing objectives or indoor air quality targets.

Ideal for ESG-Aligned Construction

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance is now a key factor in commercial property development, public procurement, and institutional investment. Reclaimed bricks contribute to ESG in the following ways:

Environmental: lower emissions, zero extraction, landfill diversion
Social: supports heritage preservation and skilled brick matching trades
Governance: aligns with sustainable procurement policies and green building codes

Explore: How Reclaimed Bricks Can Boost a Project’s ESG Performance

Summary: A Smarter, Greener Brick Choice

Whether you're building a garden wall, restoring a Victorian property, or aiming for BREEAM excellence — reclaimed bricks offer major environmental advantages: