Concrete can't be made without sand, but as suitable sand becomes scarcer, researchers are looking for alternatives. Dr. John Orr of Cambridge University has found that, if India used a sand alternative -- plastic waste that has been sorted, cleaned, shredded and crushed -- it could save 820 million tons of sand a year. But more viable long-term solutions involve changing building design to use less concrete, he said. Another expert notes that even a 10 percent reduction in the number of cars on the road would save hundreds of tons of sand used to build garages and driveways for homes and would mean parking structures could be made smaller.

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