Building a recycled plastic house and living in it - Is that a good or a bad idea?
Building a recycled plastic house and living in it, is that a good or a bad idea? This family of 4 created and built the first Plastic house in Europe!
Living good and sustainable in a house made of recycled plastic
Save plastics introduces a home thatâs portable and self-sufficient, produced with local waste plastic. The save home is the first house that combines the four elements of 'good green living': comfort & safety, self-sufficiency, mobility and local circular production.
The save home is a moveable home that does not sacrifice luxury and comfort. The house consists of separate units that can be connected as desired. Thanks to smart placement, good insulation, solar collectors and the latest technologies, the house can be self-sufficient. Where possible, 100% recycled plastic is used. For example, the facade is fully clad in plastic as well as the outdoor terrace. Other materials used are as sustainable as possible.
About plastic and the material efficiency
Plastic is actually a miracle material: it is light, strong, lasts a very long time, doesn't break easily, keeps food longer, and can have all sorts of properties (think color or pliability). At the same time, some of the advantages of plastic are also a disadvantage. Take the fact that plastic lasts so long: if it ends up in the environment, it stays there for a very long time, with all kinds of harmful consequences for ecosystems and animals. And the fact that plastics are so different makes them difficult to sort and recycle. In this article we explain how plastic recycling works.
First things first: what exactly is plastic?
Plastics consist of so-called polymers: long chains of molecules with lots of carbon. Most plastics (more than 99%) are made from petroleum, but they can also be made from renewable sources. To give plastics a desired property (for example, flexible or hard), other molecules can be added to this carbon chain, which are called additives.
Recycling of plastics
Most plastics are theoretically recyclable. They can be melted down after use and then formed into a new (and thus recycled) product. Some plastics, once they have been shaped, cannot be remelted and are therefore not recyclable. Fortunately, this concerns only 8% of the total production. Plastic recycling and upcycling can also be seen as resource efficiency, instead of just throwing it away.
Since 2010, plastic has been collected separately in central Europe for recycling. In the European Union, the recycling percentage is even less than 50% on average. Worldwide the percentage is still very low: 14% is collected separately and only 5% is recycled. One third of the packaging material is not collected at all and ends up in the environment. This is a major cause of plastic soup on the coast of Southeast Asia. And as many of us know, very often itâs plastic killing animals. Then the other question will be: how much plastic has the ocean cleanup collected. Thereâs plenty of research on the best technology to get plastic out of the ocean.
Why is plastic bottle recycling important?
Recycling PET bottles and HDPE bottles is a good thing, both economically and environmentally. Less energy is consumed than in the production of new plastic, and fewer raw materials are needed, including petroleum. Moreover, the plastic bottles no longer end up in the residual waste. A double advantage: we pay less and we pollute less! However there are plenty of voices who claim that plastic recycling doesnât work. Of course one needs to raise the question if recycling is worth it.
The recycling process in a nutshell
Once you have added a plastic package to the PMD waste, it is weighed at the collection station and checked for quality. Lots that contain too much contamination (e.g. from labels or additives) are rejected and go to the incinerator. Batches that are pure enough are compressed and go to a sorting station. There they are sorted by type as best as possible, shredded and melted. Then they are made into granules (small balls) that end up in a new product. Think toys, flower pots, dashboards, garden chairs or pipes. You can also look at it as a recycling symbol. On the other hand, thereâs no doubt that plastic recycling is 1 of the top recycling ideas in this day and age. In any case, it will be a continuous business for future entrepreneurs.
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