| Oscar Mendez's (right in the pic) idea is disrupting the construction industry — in a brilliant way |
Oscar Mendez is an architect who is disrupting the construction industry with his brilliant idea -- making construction materials out of discarded plastic.
The young founder of Conceptos Plásticos was troubled by two problems in his native Colombia - tons of plastic which gets discarded daily and are not recycled and the booming migrant population in the cities that have inadequate housing.
He's now striving to tackle both problems with one solution -- by turning plastic waste into construction material to build houses.
He recycles the plastic waste, melts it and pours it into a mould to produce plastic blocks (beams, blocks and pillars).
These blocks, which work like Lego pieces, can be locked together and are used to build permanent and temporary homes, shelters, community halls and classrooms.
The blocks are easy to assemble and disassemble should the structure need to be moved to another area.
The materials contain additives that makes them fire-resistant and because the structure is plastic-based, it is earthquake resistant too. It low maintenance and has a life span of 500 years.
Mendez's company provides the materials for communities to use and gives them training on how to construct the houses using their technology.
A house (two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, dining room and kitchen) for one family takes four people, with no construction experience, just five days to build.
The cost of building the house too is 30% lower than the traditional construction.
This innovative idea:
1. Prevents plastic from going to landfills .
2. Enables plastic to be recycled and thereby protecting the environment.
3. Uses recycled materials, which means reduced energy consumption, and CO2 emissions.
So far Mendez has helped build a contemporary shelter for 42 families displaced by violence in 2015, while recycling 200 tons of plastic in the process.
“Plastic is a problem everywhere, and people will always need a roof over their head,” said Mendez in a recent interview. He seems to have found a perfect solution to these problems.
Hope somebody in India is listening!
Image & Info courtesy: Conceptos Plásticos
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