Tunisian recycles mine waste into building material

Record ID: 1700991

  • Title: Tunisian recycles mine waste into building material
  • Date: 5th December 2022
  • Summary: BIZERTE, TUNISIA (DECEMBER 2, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING BRICKS FROM SOIL USING A COMPRESSING MACHINE INSIDE ‘SOIB’ COMPANY (SOUNDBITE ) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “This soil comes from the remnants of a metal mine that has been closed for more than twenty years, and it can be converted into bricks from compressed soil.” VARIOUS OF WORKERS POURING SOIL INTO COMPRESSING MACHINE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “The production of bricks from compressed soil is in fact a solution to several problems, the energy problem, considering we can greatly reduce energy costs, we can create jobs, reduce gas emissions because this project does not produce waste at all, but values waste in the form of bricks that can be used to solve housing problems, and today the world is experiencing many problems associated with energy and waste and how they could be managed.” VARIOUS OF TRUCK DUMPING SOIL INTO COLLECTION SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “Raw material comes to us from different places. This raw material came to us from the remains of an iron mine. Here we can notice the remains of the iron mine.” VARIOUS OF SOIL MOUNTAIN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “This is not a natural mountain, but rather large amounts of mining waste that we recycle in the form of bricks.” VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING BRICKS FROM SOIL USING COMPRESSING MACHINE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “After mixing raw materials, we carry out the pressing process in this machine until the moulds are done, then they are stored for a week to be ready. They are not heated in ovens and are made only by pressing. You can notice here that they are solid from the first day, and they are stored for a week like this.” VARIOUS OF BRICKS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “After the moulds are ready for construction, they can be fixed to the walls like this, without using cement, they can also be fixed without using other material such as concrete columns, saving up to 50% of costs, speeding up construction and retaining heat, which are the main advantages of building with soil.” WORKER LOADING COMPRESSED SOIL BRICKS STACKED SOIL BRICKS WORKERS LOADING BRICKS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ‘SOIB’ COMPANY, ABDELMALEK GHANNEM, SAYING: “I am passionate about ecological construction, I love what I do, and I believe in it. I believe that ecological building is a strategic choice, and will prevail in the future because the world experiences multiple energy crises, climate change, and air pollution outside and inside houses due to chemicals used in the buildings we live and breathe in. That’s why we now started talking about the diseases of buildings.” VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF GUEST HOUSE BUILT WITH COMPRESSED SOIL BRICKS GHANNEM ENTERING GUEST HOUSE VARIOUS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE GUEST HOUSE VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF GUEST HOUSE THAT HAS BEEN BUILT WITH COMPRESSED SOIL BRICKS
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2022 11:35
  • Keywords: Climate change Construction Environment Pollution Tunisia
  • Location: BIZERTE, TUNISIA
  • City: BIZERTE, TUNISIA
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: Africa,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001441305122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Abdelmalek Ghannem, a Tunisian university professor in communication science, sacrificed his teaching job to realise his dream of launching a project turning soil waste into ecological building bricks.
    In Bizerte governorate in northern Tunisia, the industrial project established in 2010 takes advantage of accumulated piles of waste from closed mines in the region to transform them into bricks.
    “The production of bricks from compressed soil is in fact a solution to several problems, the energy problem, considering we can greatly reduce energy costs, we can create jobs, reduce gas emissions because this project does not produce waste at all,” the 50-year-old said.
    The process of building with soil bricks saves up to 50% of costs and speeds up construction. The bricks also retain heat, Ghannem added.
    Faced with several difficulties upon inception due to the Tunisian revolution and hesitancy from engineers and the wider community to use soil bricks, his belief in the importance of the project prompted him to continue.
    According to Gahnnem his sales have grown by 25% each year since 2010 and his company has served more than 600 clients so far.
    One of which, an eco-guesthouse built solely using his bricks.
    “I am passionate about ecological construction, I love what I do, and I believe in it. I believe that ecological building is a strategic choice, and will prevail in the future because the world experiences multiple energy crises, climate change, and air pollution,” Ghannem said standing outside the guesthouse.
    (Production: Jihed Abidellaoui, Maria Semerdjian)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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