ENVIRONMENTALLY Friendly Bricks
We’re passionate about sustainability and continue to work hard to improve the environmental performance of our brick-making factory.
Making wood-fired bricks with 100% waste fuel.
Lincoln Brickworks makes environmentally sustainable wood-fired bricks using 100% waste fuel. We don’t use natural or LPG gas as a fuel source. Our timber is sourced from ‘Machins Saw Mill’ in our home town, Wingham. When milling timber, the outer edges of the log can’t be used for timber products. This waste would normally be burned or used for firewood. The remaining fuel component comes from waste oil, sourced from local garages and takeaway stores.
In 2010 we installed a new kiln, reducing our CO2 emissions by 67%. The last audited measurement was 1,407 tonnes per annum. This, plus our fuel choice, means our brick production makes a close to zero contribution to greenhouse gases.
Considering quality, durability, efficiency and maintenance.
As well as helping our community dispose of wood and oil waste in an environmentally-friendly way, we’re also supplying a high quality end product that lasts for generations. The embodied energy of our bricks is justified by their durability, their use in adaptable buildings and their contribution to lower operating costs. Because dry pressed bricks are solid, their large thermal mass significantly reduces heating and cooling needs in well designed and insulated passive solar buildings. Bricks are also low maintenance, so there’s no need to use paint or coatings, both of which are high in volatile organic compounds and chemicals that cause pollution in their manufacture and disposal.
Sourcing raw materials locally.
Lincoln Brickworks is located close to some of the best clay shale seams in Australia, reducing transport miles and associated emissions. This means we also have access to an amazing variety of colours, especially our Red and Cream clays that are on trend and perfect for brick matching.
Recycling masonry material.
Not all bricks turn out to plan. Bricks we reject in our quality control checks are crushed and added back into the next mix. Known as ‘Grog’, it adds a gritty, rustic texture called “tooth”. The coarse particles open the wet ‘green’ clay and help to reduce shrinking and drying time.