Quantifying the Resource Potential for Straw Construction in UK Housing

Meeting growing construction demand with materials that can be emissions-free in the near future is a critical part of decarbonisation, but given the finite nature of land and biomass, this requires careful planning of resources and land use. Straw is a promising example of this, since it is an agricultural co-product, can be used in load-bearing strawbale and prefabricated straw construction, avoids competition with arable land, and is compatible with zero-emissions production. However, the resource availability and implications of scaling-up the use of straw for construction in the UK have not been quantified. Here, we estimate the quantities of straw currently produced and used in different applications. Scenario and sensitivity analysis show that it is feasible to supply 300,000 low-rise dwellings with straw for load-bearing construction demand in the UK, meeting house-building targets with little impact on other sectors. UK straw supply and demand vary spatially and temporally, with surpluses in eastern regions and deficits in urban centres, alongside year-to-year production fluctuations. Even at the lower bound of these variations, the results indicate that the key limitation is not resource availability, but rather the need for improved supply chain coordination, certification and regulatory acceptance, greater economic efficiency of strawbale construction comparable to prefabricated systems, and alignment with land use and agricultural policy. This study provides a framework that can be applied to other materials to assess resource availability.