Boral Bricks Manufacturing – Using Natural Materials
Boral brick products are manufactured from two of the most abundant natural materials on the planet – clay and shale.
The raw materials that Boral uses to produce brick are surface-mined in a way that causes minimal long-term impact to the environment. These are materials that, over the course of centuries, can be used again and again, or can be broken down without harm and returned to the earth. There is effectively no waste and the land at extraction locations is reclaimed according to federal and state guidelines, which often includes replanting with trees or lake development.
And, unlike other building materials, brick creates little waste when it is manufactured. Mining one pound of clay produces nearly one pound of brick with only slight moisture and mineral loss.
Additionally, at some Boral facilities, brick is produced with a combination of clay, shale and recycled wood waste materials. The wood waste is burned away during the firing process, which results in lighter weight brick that can be as much as 20 percent lighter than traditional brick, without sacrificing the integrity of the brick. These lighter bricks have enhanced insulating properties and are also more fuel-efficient to transport.