The UK’s first virtually plastic free home has opened its doors in Redditch, Worcestershire.
The complex of 12 one-bedroom apartments is made with timber panels, aluminium window frames and mineral-insulated copper cables, while it was built with the help of £1.2 million of EU funding.
Carl Taylor, assistant director of developer Green Square Accord, said: “We can’t carry on building homes the way we are at the moment, we need people’s energy bills to be lower and homes that don’t have a negative effect on the planet.”
He added: “When we have taken plastic out of the building we have replaced it with much more robust materials.”
For safety reasons some items need to contain plastic, for instance intumescent strips which are used to seal fire doors.
However changes include replacing acrylic paint with graphene and limestone, and finishing the kitchen in solid wood.
Shernide Bowman, 23, moved into the flat due its eco-friendly credentials, adding that “I’m hoping that the bills are lower”.
And Nerissa Issac, 28, added “I am happy it is all electric and has solar panels, so hopefully it will be cheaper”.
The project’s funding came from the Interreg North-West Europe funding partnership in collaboration with Redditch Borough Council.
The flats are being managed by Redditch Co-operative Homes and are designed to be occupied by people in their 20s.
