How To Create An Eco-Friendly Driveway

The driveway is often the first impression that you have of any house – it’s the first thing that you’ll see, and this has a huge impact on your view of the household, so it’s something that you want to get right. Whilst the appearance is important, in this day and age, sustainability is also a key issue for many homeowners. While most people already make their home as environmentally-friendly as they can, driveways are often forgotten about as most properties still have concrete paving, which is less than ideal due to its lack of sustainability. Creating an eco-friendly driveway can not only be more aesthetically appealing, it can also help to preserve both your home and the surrounding environment in the long run.

Permeable and Porous Paving

If you’ve spent any time researching eco-friendly driveways, you’re sure to have come across permeable or porous paving solutions – it’s one of the most well-known options available and provides your home with a safer, more sustainable choice. The concrete material is designed to be able to absorb water, which reduces the risk of flooding or water pooling.

Permeable paving such as Alpha Flow by Brett Landscaping offers an ideal fix to frequently flooding driveways, with the intelligently designed blocks and pattern making it easy for water to flow. This will drain into a specially designed substrate that filters the excess water off into a sustainably designed draining system. SuDS is a type of drainage system that’s incredibly eco-friendly – the system will manage runoff volumes and flow from hard surfaces, and this reduces the impact of urbanisation on potential flooding. Besides this, you’ll also potentially be able to use the runoff where it falls, which further reduces waste. Natural drainage systems will also allow you to create a more attractive habitat for wildlife; this ensures that you are taking a more proactive take on tackling environmental issues. All in all, this style of drainage can help you to create a far more pleasant and sustainable environment to live, work, and play in for the future.

These types of paving also include a filtration system that helps to purify the water as it runs through the blocks – this reduces the rise of pollution from contaminants mixed in with the water, preventing harmful substances from entering the local environment.

Responsibly-Sourced Materials

Another aspect to consider when putting together an eco-friendly landscaping plan is how the materials that you’ll be using are sourced; ideally, they’ll be sustainably sourced with a traceable route, so you can be sure that the materials used in your projects are ethical. Brett Landscaping guarantees that the resources used in their paving solutions are sustainably sourced and transported as efficiently as possible, cutting emissions to create a more environmentally conscious process.

Placement and Angles

In terms of the logistics associated with the driveway, there are a few different ways that you can use the existing environment around your home to your advantage. For example, if you have a road drainage system outside of your home, you can angle your driveway towards that to assist with the removal of the excess water. A steeper driveway can often help to drain water away quickly, which again helps to reduce the risk of flooding caused by pooling on flat surfaces.

With so many options available to help you create a more sustainable driveway, there’s never been a better time to take a look at redeveloping your home’s landscaping to create a more environmentally-friendly setup. Whether it’s done through intelligent paving solutions or natural drainage systems, an eco-friendly driveway is something that is easily obtainable and incredibly useful for your home and the environment in which you live.