The construction industry is a slow one to move forward in the environmentally friendly concern. The drywall manufacturing industry, it seems, is especially slow to change, and has not significantly changed in over 100 years.

With landfills reaching all-time highs, new subdivisions constantly being developed and old homes dramatically renovated, an eco-friendly drywall seems to be something we should have developed a long time ago.

Serious Materials has developed a manufacturing process that uses 80% less energy than the production of traditional gypsum drywall. By utilizing a natural curing and drying system, they were able to discard energy intensive methods that produced high CO2 outputs.

Just as well, they have been able to build their drywall with 80% recycled materials, including materials from steel and concrete plants. Oddly enough, EcoRock uses no gypsum and is designed to be fully reutilized at the end of its life.

There are an alarming amount of products that go into our homes that emit vapours or toxins, however EcoRock already generates 60% less dust than gypsum board, and is considered the lowest emitting drywall. It is able to be recycled as a pH additive for soils, and recycled into more EcoRock, and can be safely disposed of in landfills if necessary.

Along with vapours and toxins a general concern for most homes is mould growth. Mould is a serious issue in homes that can cause illness and massive repair fees. EcoRock, though, was able to score a 10 out of 10 rating on the ASTM D3273 (International Standard Test Method) for resistance to growth of mould on the surface of interior coatings. They were able to show zero mould growth over a six week period, while most tests only go for about four weeks. EcoRock has also been able to be given a value of 8 LEED credits, toward a LEED certified home.

QuietRock is an eco-friendly drywall that is able to reduce noise by up to 90%. It’s also THX certified, and is the only THX certified wallboard on the market. SeriousGlass is a suspended, wavelength-selective thin film technology that allows the windows to maintain infrared reflection, blocking summer heat, while maintaining winter warmth, also eliminating ultraviolet rays.

Needless to say that Serious Materials has made a serious differences to some of the standard construction materials we use. Their production has started this year and their website is seriousmaterials.com. We build our homes with the hope that they will last a long time, a century if we’re lucky. But with materials that don’t benefit us and only in then end become garbage, are we just delaying the inevitable overflow of landfills? We need to rethink the way we build homes if we’re going to build ones that can endure 100 years of residence, or at least be worthy of living in for a hundred years.

For more information please visit their website, or view the TEDTalk with the company’s CEO Kevin Surace, at TED.com

Information and image provided by Serious Materials