A new methodology to identify and quantify material resource at a large scale for earth construction - Application to cob in Brittany

The methodology also provides data on the scale of availability of the resource to repair earth built heritage (cob) or to build new low impact buildings with integrated modern cob walls. In the studied area the potential waste recovery of 2.8 Mt per year is measured, highlighting the large availability of materials for earth construction. At least 23% of earthwork wastes of Brittany are suitable for earth construction (0.7 Mt). However, earth remains a non-renewable material and this resource has to be properly managed, requiring an appropriate building design and maintenance in order to increase longevity and to avoid the use of admixture, preventing earth reversibility at end of life.