Page 46 - Plastics News September 2016
P. 46
FEATURES
Conceptos Plasticos: Brick by brick
The Conceptos Plásticos construction is 30% cheaper than conventional methods in rural areas,
with the advantage that the homes can be dismantled and moved elsewhere.
Jacqueline de Klerk
It’s a sad re?ection of our times when eight million tons underway to build homes in marginalized communities in
of plastic are dumped into oceans every year. Humongous Cartagena, La Guajira, Chocó, and San Andrés. According
islands of waste now circulate in the Atlantic, Paci?c, and to Méndez, a one-family home for four people, takes only
Indian Oceans. ?ve days to build.
Deciding to take a stand against these alarming statistics, As reported by the United Nations Environmental Program,
a group of Colombians looked to the most admired of all 22% to 43% of all produced plastic worldwide ends up in
land?lls and poses a serious health risk to surrounding
communities.
Beside the squandering of potentially recyclable resources,
plastic and rubber waste can serve as a long-term social
and economic solution for a housing crisis in Colombia. “By
using only 2% of all the plastic produced we can ?x Latin
America’s housing in just 10 years,” believes the architect.
building blocks, Lego, and on a larger scale, began turning The Conceptos Plásticos construction is 30% cheaper than
local plastic waste in custom-made construction materials. conventional methods in rural areas, with the advantage
that the homes can be dismantled and moved elsewhere.
Conceptos Plásticos is a homegrown start up that in Furthermore, considering the blocks’ components are
July won the prestigious 2016 The Venture award for plastic-based, the resulting material is strong, durable,
entrepreneurship and creating social change through and earthquake resistant. The average lifespan of a Lego-
impact. So imagine if all the plastic dumped into the earth like block is 500 years and is able to withstand extreme
or thrown into our rivers and oceans could actually be weather conditions. Additives also ensure the blocks are
recycled to build homes, schools, and temporary shelters ?re resistant.
in war-torn zones? Well, this is the motivating philosophy
of Colombia’s eco-plastic pioneers and brainchild of the But the process isn’t just about bricks. It helps bring
Bogotá-based architect Oscar Méndez. communities together to participate in the construction of
their own affordable housing. The price of a single-family
The Venture awarded the Colombian initiative US$300,000 house starts at $12 million pesos or US$4,000. The ?nal
in prize money and chose this project over 27 other global cost is measured by kilogram of plastic processed, rather
entries. “The aim of Conceptos Plásticos is to provide than square meter built.
decent housing solutions to vulnerable communities,” said
Méndez at the award ceremony in New York. Speaking at The Venture, the Conceptos Plásticos team
expressed that, “if the world does not start addressing
The project took several years in the making and a the amount of plastic waste we are throwing away, the
partnership between Méndez and musician Fernando statistics for 2050 are terrifying.”
Llanos.
Conceptos Plásticos’ innovativation is hardly a drop in
During the last two years, the Conceptos Plásticos team the ocean when it comes to effectively dealing with
melted and molded 300 tons of plastic into building blocks waste in Colombia, a nation that in April enacted Law
for the construction of eco-homes in rural areas impacted 163 to regulate the use of single plastic bags. But at
by the internal con?ict, such as a temporary shelter the heart of recycling is education, and inspiring future
in Guapí, Cauca, for 42 displaced families. Plans are entrepreneurs to work for real solutions to the challenging
environmental, social and economic conditions of this
Plastics News | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 46 21st century.
