This issue's news looks at a compact solution for energy-efficient dry milling that could turn industrial by-products that had previously been considered waste into commercial products. We also report on a Californian company salvaging waste sanitaryware and turning it into premium ceramics, and research into unfired composite bricks made from clay, sheep's wool and seaweed.

The cover feature charts the travels of Dr Jenny Pickerill, Senior Geography Lecturer at the University of Leicester, UK, examining the role played by social, economic and political considerations in developing ‘eco-homes’ across the globe, while in our other feature Dr Deborah Pullen, Director of Knowledge Exploitation at the Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK, outlines the possibilities of new building materials and their implementation in improving energy consumption and CO2 emissions.