sustainable materials use in the garden

Use of any materials is consumption and has an impact on the environment; the phrase “sustainable development” is therefore something of an oxymoron. We can however examine and select our materials with more care, to minimise the ecological footprint. Remember my favourite phrase:

“I won't improve my environment at the expense of another.” or “living lightly upon the Earth”. Neither of these mean that we have to compromise on good design; in fact, it is rather the opposite. Careful and considered thought about materials and how they are used will actually lead to better design and better results.

This means that we have to understand that in all things, there are two costs; a monetary cost and an environmental cost. Unfortunately, what we pay for goods often falls far short of what the true environmental cost is. Let's take tropical timber as an example; the monetary costs might be:

The environmental costs might also include:

True cost calculations may be impossible as you would have to audit every single item involved in the chain from chainsaws to traffic signs and how do you audit the simple loss of beauty? However, you get the picture: things are more complicated than we like to think and the costs are often left piling up as future catastrophe.

Whilst that future may have seemed a long way off, we are now faced with a growing realisation that it's not our great grandchildren that will have to deal with this, but our children and even ourselves. By 2020 we are going to be in the grip of acute climate change and energy decline. Never again will a generation have the ability to squander so much, so quickly; so we have to do something and do it now. If you're not convinced by me (and I'm no specialist in these areas), do a search for “peak oil” and “energy decline”.

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So much for the doom and gloom, what can we do? first we have to realise that everyone can do quite a lot and if they did, it would add up significantly. Whilst this action has to take place in every aspect of our lives, let's get back to the focus of this article, landscape materials. These broadly fall into the following categories:

Let's look at these in turn:

Timber

I've already highlighted the case against tropical timbers in my example above. Some carry a much higher environmental impact than others but the thing to bear in mind is this: few tropical timbers can be grown in plantations, with the exception of teak. Most teak is grown and harvested with scant regard to the environment and cannot really be considered sustainable:

http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/trop_pln.htm

The friends of the Earth produce the Good Wood Guide:

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/biodiversity/resource/good_wood_guide/

Make sure that any timber you buy carries the FSC kitemark:

http://www.fsc-uk.org/

Even if tropical timber was produced sustainably, the transportation of it cannot be so. Leave tropical timbers for use in their native country. There's just too much doubt and too much evidence of environmental destruction and corruption to make any tropical timber a good choice.

That leaves plantation grown softwoods and native hardwoods. Even then we need to be certain that no “old growth” timber is supplied. Many timbers such as cedar and douglas fir can be imported old-growth timber, so again FSC certification is essential.

http://raysweb.net/specialplaces/boreal-articles/oldgrowth.html

For native hardwoods (in the UK) “green”oak is perhaps the best choice for landscape use. Being green it will warp and move as it dries out over a number of years, but that's its character. Sweet chestnut is best as poles for rustic pergolas, fences and retaining walls. This is coppiced, local (for me) and renewable.

Best of all is to buy reclaimed timber - and this can be tropical! If it's being reused, you are saving the cutting of new timber. Find your nearest reclamation yard and see what they've got - but don't expect it to be cheaper! Someone has to buy and lift the material from site, sort and de-nail it. Labour costs money and it makes it expensive. Skips can be a good source or reclaimed material - if you ask permission (there was a time when I could be found rummaging in a many a local skip!). Railway sleepers are an obvious material to use although they have a creosote content, and breakwater timbers are great, if you can find them. I can't see the point of buying new railway sleepers for landscape purposes when you could do the same job with much smaller sawn timbers, such as 8x2 inch section green oak or redwood.

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Think carefully about your use of timber, both in the home and garden. There are always alternatives to the local DIY megastore or Timber Merchant. Try demolition sites, reclamation yards, local forestry estates or your nearest sawmill. Local sawmills may not use FSC certified timber but if it's locally grown from plantations, the transport and impact is going to be minimal. Chances are you'll find this a greener solution, with more character and certainly a better eco-footprint that you can feel proud of!