In Mexico, they plan to build houses from waste
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The problem of plastic garbage today is global, which affected almost all developed countries. Every year, about 20 tons of waste plastic come to the landfills, most of which falls into the water (sea, ocean, rivers, etc.) and poisons the environment. Used plastic products are the cause of death of thousands of birds, marine life, in addition, a huge amount of plastic due to the nature of the current accumulated in the Pacific (according to some information the area of such a "garbage spot" is more than a million square meters). A huge pile of garbage in the middle of the ocean is the biggest dump, garbage from all continents accumulates here. The garbage island grows rapidly, every day here with the flow brings about 2 million pieces of various debris. Plastic decomposes for more than 100 years, causing irreparable harm to the environment, but most of all, fish and birds suffer because they swallow various plastic products (cigarette lighters, syringes, toothbrushes, etc.), mistaking them for food, resulting in animals dying.
The invention of plastic not only made life easier for people, but also led to the pollution of our planet. Plastic products are easy to manufacture, they are quite cheap, but their service life is very short, and with it, in the nature plastic, as already mentioned, decomposes more than 100 years.
Another problem of the modern world is poverty, for example, in Mexico, about 10% of the population lives below the poverty line and eat an average of $ 1 a day. In addition, because of the acute shortage of money, many families are forced to live practically on the street, in complete unsanitary conditions.
But in Mexico they found an unusual way to deal with these two problems. One startup company proposed to collect from all over the country used plastic products and process them into building material, from which to build affordable housing. Only in Mexico every year more than 5 million tons of plastic products are consumed, and the company's specialists are sure that they will have enough working material for a long time.
The company collects all plastic garbage, then after sorting, the kind of plastic that after melting does not emit toxic fumes is selected. After that, the selected plastic is crushed in a special machine into small pieces and placed in an oven, where it melts at a temperature of 350 ° C for 30-40 minutes. Then, the soft plastic mass under the hydraulic press gets the shape of panels about 2.5 meters in length and a little more than 1 m in width.
Plastic panels of waste are great for building houses, in addition, they have a number of advantages - first, do not pass water, and secondly, such a house will last at least 100 years. In the end, one of the negative qualities of plastic (prolonged decomposition in nature) experts EcoDomus turned into an advantage.
The houses, which the startup company offers, have an area of about 40 square meters, for the construction of one such house takes about 2 tons of plastic waste and 5 thousand pesos (about 300 US dollars).