14 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"Discarded plastic shampoo and juice bottles are finding new life in unlikely places—
as bridges, railroad ties and pilings. Jim Kerstein, CTO and founder of Axion International, talks about how his company transforms plastic waste into structures strong enough to support trucks,
trains and tanks."
(11 minute audio story at link.)

http://www.npr.org/2...les?ft=1&f=1025

[zararina]

Plastic shampoo and juice bottles are ending up in the junk shop here as many do really keep it until it was many enough to sell there. And some plastics here are used to create plastic chairs, tables and even hallow blocks.
And good to know that it could now be used on structures.

[Pushhyarag2000]

Some bigger city municipal corporations here in India have started recycling plastic discards & scrap articles by consuming them in hot mix apshalt for roads. Longevity of roads in cities as well as frequent wear due to water logged sections of major city roads were bothering regular commuters causing municipal bodies get regular flak from citizens due to bad roads. It is believed this has resulted not only in low maintenance but longevity of asphalted roads.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"A 90 foot long bridge made from over 50 tons of recycled plastic crosses the River Tweed in Scotland
and is strong enough to carry load bearing vehicles up to 44 tons.

The Scottish bridge is the first of its kind built in Europe and makes up the longest spans constructed from recycled plastic.

Vertech Composites, the company behind the design and construction of the bridge, partnered with many of the specialists that developed the US Army Engineers’ thermoplastic composite I-beam bridge in Fort Bragg, including the School of Engineering at Cardiff University, Rutgers University’s Advanced Polymer Center, and Axion International.

Vertech’s patented thermoplastic composite material uses post consumer recycled high density polyethylene that
would otherwise head to landfills. The inherent properties of the material naturally resist rot, rust, and damage from pests.
The material also requires no finish, little maintenance, and is 100 percent recyclable.

Vertech estimates the thermoplastic material’s life expectancy to be 50 years, which results in a $300 per square foot
lifecycle cost savings when compared to standard building materials like treated timber."
http://www.smartplan...ed-plastic/1521

It's about time we started using our brains instead of our wallets when building structures.



http://www.smartplan...ed-plastic/1521

[eweaver15]

These are really amazing structures. I've heard of some people building homes out of 2 liter plastic bottles in the Philippines. They sandwich the bottles between two sheets of plexiglass or even just cardboard, then seal the whole thing in recycled plastic wrap that shrinks with heat. It makes waterproof and long lasting walls that are lightweight enough for a homeowner to move around as they need, creating a modular but warm and dry house.

[joeldgreat]

I have watched several documentation and seen that even in the remotest place on earth, you will see plastic bottles and other stuffs made up of plastics. In the north and south pole, and even on the deepest part of the ocean, there's always plastic products. If we can only recycle half of these wastes products, then the earth would be a better place to live-in.

[mariaandrea]

I love that. We are smart enough and are able to develop the technology to address all of our problems, if we'd just develop the political will to do it. I love seeing innovative solutions like that. And think of the economics - your basic raw materials are practically free when you're recycling plastic. Sure, you're paying for the technology and energy to turn it into something else, but you'd be doing that anyway making something new from raw materials. I think it's brilliant to put plastic into roads and other structures.

[steph84]

Thanks for the link! I'm so happy that they are getting more innovative with what is being done with plastic bottles. I think plastic water bottles and the whole water bottle industry is such a huge joke and waste of money. Glad to see that it can be put to use before ending up in the wild.

[Green Thumb]

Now this is lovely to hear, from trash to treasures. I’m glad big companies could come up with solutions and innovations in one. This could be a start for other manufacturers to use products out of recyclable materials. Less on the garbage is more on the environment. Big thanks to the originator!

[Shortpoet-GTD]

I ran across this article too.

"The "Liter of Light project"

was launched six months ago by the My Shelter Foundation, a Philippines-based NGO which aims to provide light to a million of the roughly 12 million homes that are without light or are inhabited by people on the threshold of having their electricity shut down.

The scheme uses plastic bottles filled with a solution of bleached water installed into holes in corrugated iron roofs, which then refract the equivalent of 55W of sunlight into the room - during the day, at least. It takes five minutes to make, and costs $1 to produce using a hammer, rivet, metal sheets, sandpaper and epoxy."


http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

http://www.businessg...les-light-homes

[Alli]

What amazing things people come up with as ways to reuse and recycle! It always gives me great hope to see new solutions like these.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

http://www.ways2gogr...tic-Bottle.aspx

[Sandra Piddock]

Thanks for that link - great article, with some handy tips. Regarding filling bottles to use as ice packs, this really works. Last time we drove up through Spain to sail back to England - 520 miles and about 10 hours in the car in November, when the ambient temperature is still in the mid 20s - there was still ice in the bottle, so the food was still cold. We've never had such good results, even with large ice packs.

[bryce12]

Plastic bottles are difficult to dispose off so its good to see that people are finding unique ways to use them. Few days back I came across a news article where they mentioned that people in Nigeria are now constructing entire houses out of plastic bottles. They pack the bottle with sand and stack them on top of each other. The best part was that the house was completely bulletproof so there is expected to be a good demand for it.

[Hysssss-teria]

Sandra Piddock, on 19 February 2012 - 11:38 AM, said:

Thanks for that link - great article, with some handy tips. Regarding filling bottles to use as ice packs, this really works. Last time we drove up through Spain to sail back to England - 520 miles and about 10 hours in the car in November, when the ambient temperature is still in the mid 20s - there was still ice in the bottle, so the food was still cold. We've never had such good results, even with large ice packs.

We save and use empty bottles like that in the same manner, Sandra.

They really came to our rescue several months ago when we had a hurricane blow through here. It knocked power out for a couple of days in our neighborhood.

We filled a bunch of empty plastic bottles and jugs up and froze them all in the chest freezer before the storm hit. We left most of them in there to prevent anything from thawing out. We added some of the smaller ones to the refrigerator and freezer in the kitchen.

Still others went into the giant cooler we set on the dining room table. We put the cold stuff we would be needing the most often in there so that we wouldn’t be constantly opening the refrigerator or freezer to get stuff out.

I also keep 4 or 5 plastic bottles of drinking water in the kitchen freezer. Husband grabs one every day to stick in his lunch box, or two or three in hot weather. They keep his lunch really cool, and provide him with fresh, ice-cold water to drink throughout the workday.