Why Sustainability is the Future of the Surfacing Industry

Over the past several decades, people have become much more aware of the need to embrace sustainability. This need has translated into various shifts in a wide variety of industries, including the surfacing industry. NatraTex was one of the first companies to embrace this shift – our NatraTex Eco being one of the first sustainable surfacing products available – but other companies have already started to follow NatraTex’s lead.

In this article, we’ll be going through the reasons why sustainability is so important for both the surfacing industry and the economy as a whole.

Non-Renewable Materials

The first and probably most important reason why sustainability is so important in the surfacing industry is that the process invariably involves non-renewable resources. These resources, when used, do not naturally regenerate on their own or take a long time to.

For example, one of the main elements of almost all surfacing processes – regardless of the binding agent used– is aggregate. Without that aggregate, there would be no surface to speak of. That aggregate material has to be sourced from rock quarries. These queries can only provide so much material before the suitable material is used up.

After that point, the only options are to open a new source of material – either through a new rock quarry or through recycling. Not only can it take a considerable amount of time to find a site for a potential quarry, but the site also may not be developable. For example, if the potential quarry site is near housing, the local authority will deny planning permission. This means that the process will have to start up all over again.

In contrast, aggregates which have been recycled (even partly) can be sourced from a wide variety of locations – including (potentially) from the client’s existing surface.

Expense

Another benefit of sustainable surfacing products is the fact that they are far more cost-effective to manufacture at scale than non-sustainable products. As previously mentioned, many elements that go into the creation of a surfacing product are non-sustainable – the most obvious of which is the aggregate material that makes up the surface.

This material must be sourced from appropriate sites and this process often involves expensive machines which have to be bought or rented. As a result, this process accrues considerable costs and increases the end price of the product.

In contrast, material that can be sourced from a wide number of different sources and isn’t subject to scarcity will invariably be cheaper. A material which doesn’t need expensive machines to source will always be cheaper than one that does.

Decorative Landscaping From NatraTex

For over ten years, NatraTex has provided our customers throughout the UK with high-performance, porous coloured tarmac-alternative products, including our high-quality NatraTex Eco and NatraTex Cotswold products. Our customers have used our products for coloured playgrounds, school surfacing, bus lanes, block paving and as alternatives to traditional resin driveways.

Get in touch with NatraTex today for more information about any of our eco-friendly, sustainable surfacing products.