Taking the long-term view

Whole life costings of products, accountability of the supply chain and optimum energy performance are now important considerations for both public and private sectors.

To meet this demand, the company is actively involved in the promotion the environmental advantages of aluminium, and is working with all stakeholders in the supply chain to maximise effective recycling. This stretches from 80 per cent recycling of waste from the extrusion process and offcuts from fabrication, to the eventual recycling of the units at the end of their life.

The Wembley example

Recent documented evidence of this success was revealed by Delft University, which undertook a detailed study of the demolition of Wembley stadium. The report shows that 96% of the aluminium removed was recycled and demonstrates that even after nearly 50 years on site the product could still be reused.

Aluminium is the most abundant metallic element on earth. It occurs in the ore bauxite and it is estimated that worldwide bauxite deposits found to date would yield enough aluminium to last over 300 years. If we recycle aluminium products at the end of their useful life, we can extend that 300 years perhaps indefinitely. Aluminium can be effectively and endlessly recycled with no impairment to its inherent properties. The energy differential between recycling and production of primary aluminium is so favourable that scrap aluminium will remain a valuable commodity. This is obviously an important factor when considering whole life costings of buildings.

Some industry analysts have gone as far as to predict that the architectural aluminium product sector could be completely focused on the use of recycled material by as early as 2020.

Approved Document L stipulates a centre pane U value of 1.2 W/m2K. as one means of compliance. An excellent point about aluminium is that it has no problem meeting the Approved Document requirements through.

The user-friendly British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC) Window Energy Ratings system is another route to compliance. It takes into consideration not only heat emissions but also solar gain. Again, aluminium scores well because the slim sightlines enable maximum light transmission and coupled with the effective integral polyamide thermal barrier mean that aluminium systems are able to achieve excellent ratings meeting the vast majority of energy targets.

It seems self-evident that sustainability is of paramount long-term importance. Raw material properties, production processes, product performance and eventual disposal costs must be balanced in a complex equation to calculate the environmental impact of the choices we make. Aluminium is uniquely able to satisfy tough ecological criteria without compromising either performance or aesthetic or environmental requirements. In the current climate of social and global responsibility aluminium is likely to go from strength to strength.