Is laying concrete more eco friendly than laying kiln-dried bricks ?

Question

i refer to eco-friendly as to the amount of green house gases emitted from the mining through to manufacture and transport and eventual laying of the product. i will be laying a new driveway that will use 5 cubic meters of ready mixed concrete , should i use kiln-dried bricks instead ?

Answer 1

I don't know, but if you hold your breath, you will become more eco-friendly. Because when you breathe out, you expel CO2.

Answer 2

At 5 cubic meters, go with concrete. To Green the driveway, though add flat-metal strapping reinforcement vs. rebar or mesh wire. The driveway will last a lot longer, will better flex with the ground, and wont crack/crumble as much.

Answer 3

The process of kiln drying the bricks will actually put more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.  But if you look at it holistically, the kiln dried bricks will do a better job of allowing water to infiltrate and help maintain the hydrologic balance.

Answer 4

I don't know.  

A lot of portland cement is manufactured in China, where as you may be able to source bricks close by, bricks would probably weigh quite a bit less and would require less machinery to place.  

Gravel would probably be a greener choice, or reused bricks (especially if they where just used for the wheel tracks and not a continuous wide surface)

Answer 5

In this case, I think you're going to want to go with the concrete.  You need to consider how much fuel emissions are going to be released by transporting the bricks to your house, as well, so in the end it doesn't end up helping the environment.