Bricks made from plastic exist, and they offer the same structural benefits as traditional bricks while delivering superior heat insulation. A collaboration between an Argentine research initiative and a U.S. company has produced this material, achieving brick savings by half compared to conventional bricks. Homes are already being erected with these blocks.
The Experimental Center for Affordable Housing (CEVE), a research hub in Córdoba, Argentina, pioneered this innovation and many others focused on reusing plastic materials. The CEVE team, led by architect and director Rosa Gaggino, developed bricks formed from crushed disposable PET bottles mixed into cement.
“The manufacturing process is simple, similar to concrete blocks, but here sand is replaced by plastics crushed to about three millimeters,” Gaggino explained to La Nación. The institute began 24 years ago to tackle environmental pollution and received a patent in 2006.
Among the main advantages, Gaggino notes, the plastic brick offers greater heat insulation than ordinary terracotta. A 15 centimeter-thick wall using these bricks achieves the same thermal performance as a 30 centimeter-thick wall of traditional bricks.
Tests on compression, bending, fire resistance, weathering, moisture, and frost were conducted in the laboratory with satisfactory results, enabling the attainment of a thermal compliance certificate for this component.
Gaggino emphasized that a PET brick is made with 20 disposable bottles, highlighting the environmental importance of the project. The bricks are bound with Portland cement and include a chemical additive that improves plastic particle adhesion.
Construction and management technologies are shared through CEVE’s training programs with local and provincial governments, public and private institutions, cooperatives and non-governmental organizations. Through these transfers and fifty trainings, houses have been built in Junín, Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Altagracia.
Another manufacturer in the USA
Argentine bricks are not the only plastic-based bricks. An American company, ByBlock, also produces blocks from this material and highlights easy processing.
The manufacturer has created modular machines that are portable and capable of performing the entire crushing and compaction process. They can be installed almost anywhere, from small businesses to government buildings, enabling on-site brick production.
A key advantage is that no cleaning or sorting of plastics is required.
In this model, every ton of plastic waste can yield one ton of plastic bricks.
ByBlock has reached an agreement to deploy its technology in the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho. The arrangement will continue until 72 tons of plastic are sourced from local landfills to manufacture these recycled blocks.
Plastic is clearly gaining traction as a valuable raw material in construction. New applications surface regularly. Some are experimental, such as Trashpresso, a mobile recycling plant that converts plastic bottles into tiles for homes and buildings and operates using solar energy.
Plastics are also being used in road pavements and, in some cases, buildings. A Scottish company introduced MR6, an asphalt mix that lowers bitumen use by about 10 percent.
In addition, some firms are using plastic from disposable coffee cups to produce insulating walls or separation screens.
All these developments—from slabs to plastic bricks—align with a circular economy aimed at reducing waste and fostering a more sustainable production and consumption system.
…….
Environment department contact address: [redacted for privacy].