Minerals are running out: Time to find alternatives to ball clay

We live in a time of climate crisis, woodland loss, flooding, and polluted rivers — and still, companies talk about new pits as if there’s no alternative. The truth is, there are alternatives, and they’re already here.

Smarter, not deeper

New technologies like 3D-printed ceramics mean we can use just the amount of material needed, with almost no waste. Lighter tiles, less energy in the kiln, and easy repair when something breaks. It’s the opposite of blasting out more pits: it’s clever, precise, and future-facing.

Use what we’ve already got

Why dig fresh clay when the UK is throwing away tonnes of usable material every year? Old tiles, ceramic scraps, and factory offcuts can be ground down and turned into new products. On top of that, we can mix in safe by-products like fly ash, rice husks, algae, and even paper sludge. Every bit of waste reused is one less reason to bulldoze more woodland.

Try bio-based and brilliant

Not everything needs clay. Mycelium composites (grown from fungi) and plant-based binders are already replacing plastics and fillers in design and construction. These materials are lightweight, renewable, and harmless to communities — unlike the dust and noise from quarry trucks running past homes and schools.

Build things to last - and to reuse

We can design ceramics and tiles in a way that makes them easy to take back, recycle, or click apart and reuse. Imagine never having to smash a bathroom to pieces just to replace it. This is what the circular economy looks like: repair, reclaim, reuse - instead of rip, dig, dump.

This is bigger than Devon

This isn’t just one quarry. It’s a pattern. If companies are allowed to keep expanding here, it sets the tone for everywhere. The UK as a whole must face reality: finite resources demand a finite footprint. No one community should be forced to carry the burden of destruction while the profits flow overseas.

Time to choose

The world doesn’t need more pits. It needs more imagination. We can print smarter, recycle harder, and switch to bio-materials that don’t cost us our woodland, our rivers, or our health.

There is no planet B. You’re either on the side of solutions, or you’re on the side of digging holes until there’s nothing left.