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Mexico plans to build houses out of waste materials
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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The problem of plastic waste is global today, affecting almost all developed countries. Every year, about 20 tons of unnecessary plastic are dumped in landfills, most of which ends up in water (sea, ocean, rivers, etc.) and poisons the environment. Used plastic products cause the death of thousands of birds, sea creatures, in addition, a huge amount of plastic has accumulated in the Pacific Ocean due to the peculiarities of the current (according to some data, the area of such a "garbage patch" is more than a million square meters). A huge pile of garbage in the middle of the ocean is the largest dump, garbage from all continents accumulates here. The garbage island is growing rapidly, every day approximately 2 million pieces of various garbage are brought here by the current. Plastic takes more than 100 years to decompose, causing irreparable harm to the environment, but fish and birds suffer the most, as they swallow various plastic products (lighters, syringes, toothbrushes, etc.), mistaking them for food, as a result of which the animals die.
The invention of plastic has not only made life easier for people, but also led to the pollution of our planet. Plastic products are easy to produce, they are quite cheap, but their service life is very short, at the same time, in nature, plastic, as already mentioned, decomposes for more than 100 years.
Another problem of the modern world is poverty, for example, in Mexico about 10% of the population live below the poverty line and eat on average 1 dollar a day. In addition, due to the acute shortage of money, many families are forced to live practically on the street, in complete unsanitary conditions.
But Mexico has found an unusual way to combat these two problems. One startup company has proposed collecting used plastic products from all over the country and recycling them into building material, which will then be used to build affordable housing. In Mexico alone, more than 5 million tons of plastic products are consumed each year, and the company's specialists are confident that they will have enough working material to last a long time.
The company collects all plastic waste, then after sorting, selects the type of plastic that does not emit toxic fumes after melting. 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 0 C for 30-40 minutes. Then, under a hydraulic press, the soft plastic mass takes the form of panels about 2.5 meters long and a little more than 1 m wide.
Plastic panels made from waste are perfect for building houses, and they also have a number of advantages: firstly, they are waterproof, and secondly, such a house will last at least 100 years. As a result, one of the negative qualities of plastic (long-term decomposition in nature) was turned into an advantage by specialists from EcoDomus.
The homes offered by the startup company are about 40 square meters in size, and the construction of one such home requires approximately 2 tons of plastic waste and 5 thousand pesos (about 300 US dollars).