As more of us become conscious of the negative impacts of plastic on our health and environment, Nigel Griffiths discusses how and why to find alternative products for your self build home

Above: This herringbone patterned floor is made from bamboo. The Oxwich collection from Woodpecker Flooring (www. woodpecker flooring.co.uk) uses responsibly sourced wood and offers a smooth finish

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lastic is everywhere – both as products and as waste. Escaped plastics are a blight on our roadsides, in our watercourses, fields and oceans. Microplastics have even invaded our water supplies and are present at the North Pole. This genie, it seems, it well and truly out of the bottle (as well as in it!).

Brave attempts are being made to expand the market for recycling, improve the technology to recycle more types, and collect waste from our beaches and oceans. But I believe what we really need to do is stop producing the stuff in the first place. Pollution from plastic will only stop if it’s banned or if people stop demanding it.

That’s where we self builders come in; not only can we reduce plastic use in our own projects, we can also set an example to the rest of the construction industry and prove that it’s not so difficult to do. The fundamental point, of course, is that until the early/mid 20th century, no buildings contained plastics, because they hadn’t been invented. On that basis, it is perfectly possible to be dry, safe, healthy and warm in our homes without any plastics at all.

Why does it matter?

There are health concerns relating to plastics, including offgassing from certain products. Robust evidence on the effects of the many chemicals used in the production of plastics is hard to come by, but stabilisers and additives are used in PVC, and some of these additives are no longer used due to their toxicity. However, these substances are already in countless buildings. When plastics are set alight, they are at their most dangerous – PVC emits hydrogen chloride when burned, and this can be lethal.