Terrazzo Flooring and its Environmental Sustainability
Among all the flooring systems in the market today, terrazzo flooring is regarded as one of the most sustainable and environment-friendly. This is due to how the terrazzo material is made and the components that make it up. Terrazzo flooring is typically made out of cement with the addition of other materials such as scrapped marble, rock or post-consumer glass. The use of these post-consumer composites makes terrazzo eco-friendly because nothing is wasted. Every scrapped material is processed and added into the mix to create uniquely designed patterns and colours. This uniqueness is also what makes terrazzo one of the most design-flexible flooring materials available to builders and designers.
Historically, terrazzo is probably one of the first, if not the original recycled flooring system. Ancient Venetian workers took scrapped marble that were left over from building houses of the wealthy and set them with clay to build patios around their residences. Today, terrazzo flooring continues to be environment friendly that is both durable and low-maintenance. Additionally, because of its composition, terrazzo has no volatile organic compounds or VOC, further cementing its eco-friendly status.
And because terrazzo flooring is massively durable and longevity – often lasting as long as the structure it resides in – environmentally conscious builders almost always recommend the terrazzo flooring systems for structures with high foot traffic such as malls, hotels, airports and hospitals. Furthermore, because terrazzo flooring can be refinished repeatedly, there is literally no need to replace any materials. This is especially very beneficial in structures like hospitals and airports where the opportunity to rebuild or change flooring systems is very scarce due to the nature of the structures’ purpose.
Terrazzo flooring is definitely the benchmark for all eco-friendly materials. It boasts of high sustainability, longevity and durability without stinting on design flexibility. Also, because of all these excellent qualities, building and installation costs have become non-issues.