How Can Shredded Plastic Water Bottles Become Foam Wall Panels?

Instead of languishing forever in a giant landfill or the ocean, a construction company is putting millions of plastic water bottles to better use as high-performing building materials for houses and decks. Based in Nova Scotia on Canada's East Coast, JD Composite's structural insulated panels are built with a foam core material consisting of recycled plastic bottles bonded with specialized laminates. First, Ontario-based company Armacell processes the bottles: After shredding and heating the plastic into small pellets, it is treated with gases and melted into foam. Once it's cool, the hardened foam gets a fiberglass coating, followed by UV-resistant paint. The foam panels then form insulating 5.9-inch-thick walls. The company recently built a 2,000-square-foot beach house using 620,000 recycled plastic bottles. Not only was it made to withstand Nova Scotia's gale-force winds, but the home is energy-efficient and affordable.

How Can Wine Corks Be Transformed Into Flooring and Wall Panels?

Instead of popping the corks from wine bottles straight into the trash bin, several companies recycle them into sustainable building materials. Since 2008, Cork ReHarvest has collected and recycled billions of corks from across North America. The organization places cork collection boxes in grocery stores. It also offers educational programs to raise awareness about cork forests and works with partners that recycle the corks into different products. One of its partners, Jelinek Cork Group , which has offices in six countries, is a leader in the cork recycling movement. The company grinds up corks and uses the grain to make flooring, wall tiles, and bulletin boards.

How is Recycled Glass Turned Into Tiles and Countertops?

Collecting glass waste from the local window and solar industries, California-based Fireclay Tile handmakes tiles for kitchens and bathrooms. They recapture the water used in the production process and redistribute it to the glaze line or extruders. The company also recycles the waste from cutting granite rocks and reuses its glaze waste into its clay. Several companies make show-stopping countertops out of recycled glass. Brooklyn, NY-based IceStone has been using glass waste in its products since 2003 and has diverted more than 17 million pounds of glass from landfills. In Tate, Georgia, Vetrazzo is mixed with composite compounds to create unique artisan counters. Their products are designed to give scrap glass from old jars, car windshields, and traffic lights a new life.

How Do Plastic Scraps Get Transformed Into Building Blocks?

With its goal to recycle 100 million tons of plastic by 2030, ByFusion has big dreams. It developed a building material called RePlast to create an inexpensive modular product. The product can be used for all kinds of construction projects, including retaining walls, furniture, outdoor sheds, fences, furniture, and more. They use a carbon-neutral, non-toxic manufacturing process where the discarded plastic is shredded, superheated, and then fused into blocks. The final product generates 41% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than concrete blocks. ByBlock is said to be the first construction-grade building material crafted entirely from recycled plastic waste . Unlike concrete, it won't crack, and the product doesn't require any glue.