Looks like unbaked bricks will begin to be widely used in construction now that a circular have been approved imposing the use of eco-friendly building materials. Circular No. 04/2013/CT-UBND will take effect this year and will be applied throughout 2015. According to its directives, structures reaching nine floors or more have to utilize unbaked bricks for at least 30 per cent of their construction needs. After 2015, the percentage will be increased to at least 50 per cent. The municipal administration has asked the Department of Construction to disseminate the details and guidelines on the use of unbaked bricks.

Green Materials Shun in the Past

Efforts to push the use of unbaked materials in construction have began in the past years. To further realize it, local authorities have promised have given priority and support to investors involved in the production of unbaked bricks. Proposals were also passed on increasing taxes on using clay to produce bricks. However, results were limited and figures still show very low consumption of unbaked construction materials.

It appears the materials have not been widely used in the country because of its higher price and the long-standing habit of using traditional baked bricks. On top of that, technical standards relating to product quality, design, construction and appraisal of projects that use unbaked materials have not yet been established.

Vietnamese have used baked brick for many generations, and non-baked bricks often are larger in size which makes them difficult to transport especially for high-rise construction. Using non-baked bricks also requires higher skilled workers.

Vietnam consumes about 20 billion of bricks per year and is expected to need 42 billion bricks by 2020. If baked bricks, however, were all used to meet this demand, 60 million cubic meters of clay, or 3,000 hectares of farmland, and 5.6 million tons of fossil coal and firewood would be consumed and 17 million tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted to the environment. The consumption of large areas of farmland in producing baked clay bricks would affect food security in the long run. Vietnam will be faced with deforestation, environmental pollution and ecological imbalance that are beyond control.

Environmental Advantages

On the contrary, unbaked bricks are made from ash and cinder from thermal power stations and red mud from bauxite factories. Utilizing such and several other waste products as its components help preserve natural resources, conserve the agricultural land and coal, and reduce industrial waste treatment costs. A research by the Association for Building Materials say that between years 2015-2020, the country could discharge 50-60 million tonnes of waste which potentially would pollute the environment. The same waste could be employed in the production of non-baked bricks, while helping clear hundreds of hectares of rubbish dumps. About 1,000ha of agricultural land is also estimated to be saved every year if builders opt for unbaked bricks.

Because unbaked bricks are lightweight, using them can also help speed up work, reduce manpower, accelerate construction progress, cut management costs and offer better efficiency for investors. The same also present other advantages including its being soundproof and heat resistant.

Market for Green Materials to Look Better

Given its advantages and the supportive policy, unbaked materials are to be the more favorable options for builders. For some time, producers of unbaked materials are struggling, with some of them having already folded up their businesses. The market is not yet accustomed to the new type of materials and the consumption is very slow. To encourage its production and use, information about their advantages must be further disseminated to the public. Producers are also urged seek ways to reduce production cost in order to offer the consumers lower prices.

Operators of factories on unbaked materials are hopeful that the recently introduced policies would assist the movement of eco-friendly construction. The information and the policies will be expanded to different cities and provinces across the countries to further facilitate the use of unbaked materials in serving the construction industry.