Concrete is heavy, and 5% of the world's CO2 is created during the manufacture of the cement that goes into it. Then there is the aggregate that is dug out and the trucks that have to carry it. Not only that, but most of the concrete that is in a slab isn't even needed; it is just a spacer between the bottom, where the reinforcing steel is in tension, and the top, where the concrete is in compression.

BubbleDeck is a really clever solution to this problem: it fills the slab with plastic balls that are held in place in prefabricated assemblies of reinforcing. It has been used a few times in Canada, and Archdaily shows the first above-grade installation of BubbleDeck in the United States, at Harvey Mudd College.

MATT Construction describes it in Archdaily:

Bubbledeck Canada claims that it produces floors 20% faster with less formwork and beams, reduces construction costs by 10% and agrees with the 35% reduction in concrete use. "Off-site manufacturing, fewer vehicle movements and crane lifts and simple installation all combine to minimise operating as well as health & safety risks."

Replacing concrete with....air. I wonder why this isn't used everywhere.

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