From a distance, a new home in rural Nova Scotia looks like it might be made of wood. But the structure—hidden under recycled aluminum siding laser-printed with a cedar print—was built from 600,000 recycled plastic bottles, shredded and melted and made into six-inch-thick walls. “This is a way to get rid of plastic waste and at the same time develop structures that are sustainable,” says David Saulnier, cofounder of JD Composites, the startup that built the prototype house. The recycled-plastic panels provide more insulation than typical walls, so homeowners can save energy in heating and cooling. Using this type of panel to build a house isn’t new, but the company chose to use a fully recycled material to try to tackle the problem of plastic pollution . Each minute, by one estimate, consumers buy at least one million single-use plastic bottles; the majority end up in landfills or in waterways, not at recycling plants. The startup partnered with Armacell, a Belgian company that uses bottles rejected by the recycling industry to build a foam core from 100% recycled plastic. JD Composites trims that material and laminates it to create each panel. Though the walls are lightweight, they’re engineered to […]
Latest Articles
Eco-Friendly Farm Stays Around the U.S.
Takeaways: A farm stay is an accommodation where you can book a bed, room, or lodging on a working farm.
Payment for the accommodation...
Natural Fire Resistant Cotton
Natural Fire Resistant Cotton A research team from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed a...
The “Windcatcher”: Bigger Than The Eiffel Tower And Can Power 80,000 Homes, Say Developers
Takeaways: The Windcatcher is an offshore sail that might be set to change wind power generation.
The device can spin faster than traditional turbines,...
Urban Gardens and Regenerative Agriculture: How Small-Scale Farms Could be the Future of Food...
Urban Gardens and Regenerative Agriculture: How Small-Scale Farms Could be the Future of Food Production. Urban Gardens...
Calgary Passes Single-Use Plastics Bylaw
Takeaways: The city of Calgary has passed a single-use plastic bylaw to decrease the amount of waste the city produces.
Citizens will have to...
10 States Have Now Banned the Sale of Cosmetics Tested on Animals
Takeaways: New York has become the tenth state to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
The law is known as the New...