The Environmental Benefits of Using Moroccan Tadelakt Plaster

People are becoming more and more aware of the need to limit the impact of their actions on the environment, and are increasingly taking action to reduce their carbon footprints. Interestingly, the way you decorate your home can also play a role here. For instance, many people choose to finish the surfaces of their bathroom to make them more visually appealing. Choosing a material such as tadelakt to do this is a good option, as this has many green credentials that make it kind to the environment as well as a material suitable for use in bathrooms and other rooms of the house.

What is tadelakt?
Tadelakt is starting to grow in popularity but many people are still unsure what it is. It is a type of natural, lime-based plaster and has got its origins in the Marrakech region of Morocco. You can get many different shades of tadelakt, which are created by tinting the material. It is popularly used in bathrooms as it is waterproof, and is commonly used for shower cubicles and wet rooms as well as sinks, baths and even swimming pools.

Creating a healthy living environment
One green benefit of tadelakt is that it helps to create a healthy living environment. Unlike many other finishes that require you to clean them using bleach or other harsh chemicals, tadelakt plaster is the complete opposite. It is sealed with a soap solution, which helps to prevent the build-up of grime and can be cleaned using a sponge and water. As long as you regularly reapply this soap solution, the tadelakt should stay in excellent condition.

It is also very breathable and has a smooth finish, which means there are no groove lines where mould might otherwise collect. This helps to make the environment cleaner still and ultimately a much nicer place to be.

Reducing levels of CO2
As you are no doubt aware, carbon dioxide is one of the main culprits of global warming. The good news is that tadelakt is CO2-friendly: when you compare it with other, cement-based finishes, it releases 80% less CO2 – a significant difference. Also, the fact that it is lime-based helps as this means when CO2 is released during processing, the tadelakt actually reabsorbs much of it, stopping it from escaping and damaging the environment. Tadelakt also looks much more attractive than other types of surface finishes, meaning its benefits are more than just environmental.

Recycling and reusing existing products
You will probably know all about how important it is to recycle, as this enables us to use the same resources more than once, reducing the amount of energy we use mining new materials and creating new goods. Tadelakt is a good example of how this works: it can be recycled and used in new mortars by crushing it down, meaning it is a practical choice with useful options if you decide to dispose of it in the future.

It is also biodegradable, which means that if you do dispose of it and it is not recycled, it will gradually sink back into the earth – in stark contrast to many of the items that often end up in landfill.

Keeping synthetics away
One last green benefit of using tadelakt is that it is entirely natural. This is a bonus as it is often synthetic materials that are the most harmful to the environment, both in terms of creating them and when it comes to disposal. Tadelakt doesn’t have such issues to contend with, meaning that it uses the minimum amount of energy in its production and it avoids the need to incorporate harmful chemicals – something that is certainly to be applauded.

This article was supplied by Décor Tadelakt, a Bristol based talented team of decorative plasterers specialising in Polished plaster, Venetian plaster and Moroccan Tadelakt.