Plastic Concrete: Company Aims to Accomplish Zero Waste by Creating Sustainable Construction Materials

Most people do their best to recycle the single-use plastics we use daily; some plastics require more work to reuse than just throwing them in the recycling bin.

Because more work is needed, many polymers end up in landfills. However, one startup is attempting to change the fate of difficult-to-recycle plastic permanently.

(Photo : Carl Court/Getty Images)

Plastic Materials

Some plastics can be recycled once or twice, but others are difficult to recycle for technological and economic reasons. Styrofoam, for example, is often not accepted by recyclers because of its lightweight foam composition, which makes it challenging to handle.

Products made of polystyrenes, such as plastic forks and compact disc cases, are, on the other hand, recyclable.

Vinyl packaging, polypropylene medication bottles, low-density polyethylene disposable drink cups, and high-density polyethylene milk bottles are all examples of recyclable plastic items. Shampoo bottles, traffic cones, floor tiles, and oil funnels are just a few examples of everyday items manufactured from recycled plastics.

ByFusion Global

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ByFusion Global is developing a new concrete block composed entirely of recyclable and hard-to-recycle plastics such as plastic bags, yogurt cartons, and water bottles.

These blocks are known as ByBlocks, and they may be utilized in modern building construction in the same manner as for regular concrete blocks. ByBlocks, on the other hand, will not shatter, crumble, or fracture like regular concrete.

According to ByFusion Global's website, "ByBlock is the first construction-grade building material created entirely from recycled (and sometimes non-recyclable) plastic trash." They may even be put together without glue or adhesive.

To make the blocks, the business employs a steam-based technique called ByFusion, which doesn't require any chemicals, additives, or fillers. Waste management firms, municipalities, and enterprises may install block-making machines to produce more sustainable construction materials.

Production of ByBlocks

According to ByFusion Global, the production of ByBlock is fully waste-free, with a single ton of plastic producing one ton of ByBlock - and no particular understanding is necessary to begin using them for construction. Before turning plastics into ByBlock, they don't even need to be sorted, cleaned, or processed.

Retaining walls, foundations, inner walls, terraces, and any other project using a concrete block can be replaced with ByBlock. You can even make them a stand-out design feature because they're so appealing to the eye.

ByFusion wants to work with other governments and businesses to spread the ByBlock throughout the world and minimize plastic waste in landfills and the ocean.

Recycling Plastics

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Plastic materials might take millennia to decompose once they've been dumped. They choke landfills and put a strain on waste-processing plants.

Recycling protects the environment and generates new economic possibilities by converting bottles, packaging, and other plastic waste into new commodities. Recycling plastics keeps still-useful materials out of landfills and stimulates firms to create unique and inventive products with them.

Sustainable materials produce significantly less waste than other materials, such as plastics, resulting in less landfill trash, lower energy usage, and a lower overall environmental effect. Natural wood, in general, has a lower life cycle cost than other materials.