Goodbye to concrete forever – researchers reveal a new sustainable building material that could transform construction sites in Europe and the US

Union Rayo ^ | 8/12/25 | Laura M.

[Eleutheria5]

Almost everything we build (houses, buildings, bridges) depends on a material that we use without thinking too much, cement, true? It is so common that it seems inevitable, but its impact is enormous, just its production generates around 8 % of the world’s CO₂ every year. Eight percent!! But, there is a new material that is stealing the show… cardboard and paper, the same ones that end up in the trash everyday. We pollute by producing cement while wasting materials that could be used to build. But, wait, Laura, how can we use paper and cardboard in construction?

Okey, let’s explain it, regarding this scenario, a group of researchers from RMIT University in Australia decided to wonder a question that sounds almost naive and, at the same time, revolutionary, is there any possibility that can we build without cement and use resources that we already have lying around, forgotten? Wow, what a question! The answer led them to look downward (to the ground) and to the trash, to cardboard. From that unusual mix arose two new construction materials that not only eliminate cement, but are more resistant, cheaper and much less polluting. Like when you were a child and you use papier mache, do you remember it?

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: 8co2; cardboard; concrete; notnews; packedearth

[Eleutheria5]

Don't look, Mary Anne!

[sphinx]

Well ... I imagine that 80th floor suites and apartments in papier mache buildings might enjoy substantial discounts to get them rented. So there’s that.

[SpaceBar]

Tofu dregs is now considered a technology.

[AAABEST]

is so common that it seems inevitable, but its impact is enormous, just its production generates around 8 % of the world’s CO₂ every year. Eight percent!!

More flop from the enviro clownhouse. The entire sum total of human civilization produces < 1%.

[ClearCase_guy]

A quick read makes me think this article was written by a 14-year-old girl.

[dfwgator]

This Ol’ Box
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BNgRpRuWGs

[Brian Griffin]

Stone walls could be built.

Computers could figure out how to stack a supply of stone nicely.

[blackdog]

“This stretch of highway is paved with Soylent White”

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

“Carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up a small fraction of Earth’s atmosphere, around 0.04%, or roughly 420-427 parts per million (ppm).”

Man made CO2 is only a tiny fraction of the total, with the vast majority being part of the natural CO2 cycle. So fretting about man made CO2 is a specious argument.

[BipolarBob]

AI.

[Brian Griffin]

Florida cockroaches eat paper.

The mold problem in Florida is severe.

[LastDayz]

Idjits.... there’s still structures throughout the US that the concrete is still curing to this day.

[dfwgator]

What could possibly go wrong?

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Uhhh. These people want us to live in buildings made out of sticks, vines, and mud wattle.

The idea that concrete is bad is bat sheisse friggin insane. If I hear that one more time,
I'm going to go out to the burn pile and throw another old tire on top. Maybe
top it with
another cup of coal oil for a chaser.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

From the website ---

Company Name: UR Producciones Deportivas SC, hereinafter “The Provider”.
Commercial Name: Unión Rayo Registered Address: Avenida Ocho de Marzo, 8. Rivas Vaciamadrid. 28523, Madrid.

The site mentions a second "more reistsant" version: "It is not cheap, that is true. But its use makes sense in areas where lightness is critical, such as zones with seismic risk. Sometimes, spending more means avoiding catastrophes."

Seems like "wishing" marketing. The message is that cement's CO2 is polluting. And the "group of researchers from RMIT University in Australia" ( Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ) research isn't linked. So....

"This innovative material, called cardboard-confined rammed earth, is composed entirely of cardboard, water and soil – making it reusable and recyclable."

Cardboard and earth reshape sustainable construction RMIT, 22 September 2025.

"RMIT and partners have already advanced public demonstrations, including a footpath pilot and the first coffee‑biochar concrete section on the Victorian Big Build, and showcased the concept through the National Gallery of Victoria's Making Good: Redesigning the Everyday exhibition."

Coffee waste helps make lower carbon concrete RMIT, 28 November 2025.

Results on durability are not in. Looking for research money and partners are.

[Skywise]

“Eat recycled food. It’s good for the environment and ok for you.”

[9YearLurker]

Finally a use for all those little cardboard toilet-paper rolls?

[Preachin']

Environmentalism is a religion.

[JimRed]

...just its production generates around 8 % of the world’s CO₂ every year. Eight percent!!

And after all the things they've lied about for years, we should believe this because...???

[csn vinnie]

I’m sure this new technology will be just as durable as the concrete the Romans used 2000 years ago for coastal applications.