Recycled Plastic Bricks - Do They Work?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ย. 2023
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In this video, we're looking at all things Recycled Plastic Bricks. Because on paper, they sound like the ideal solution to not only our plastic pollution problem, but also housing issues. However, it's certainly a complicated subject - so there's a lot to look into! 🧱
A big thank you to Ben and Connor for sharing their knowledge and expertise on the subject. You can find out more about Circular 11 at circular11.com/ or keep up to date with them over on their Instagram / circular_11
And a massive thank you to Rory for sharing his seemingly infinite amount of recycled plastic knowledge. His website can be found by going to www.sustainabledesign.studio/ 💡
More information on the brick including the research papers can be found at www.recyclerebuild.org/recycl...
And here's the Rory's video that we mentioned which is definitely worth a watch! • Why the world needs re...
If you wanted to get a Recycled Plastic Brick mould for yourself, they're available on the Precious Plastic Bazar bazar.preciousplastic.com/mou...
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If tongue and groove slots were added to the sides it would probably solve a good bit of the lateral strength issues.
Great observation. That was a glaring detail missing for that narrow brick.
Plaex Building Systems! Google it
I was just thinking a dove tale would work well they may have to manufacture a specific end cap block for turns but still would add a lot of lateral strength indeed.
It’s admirable that you guys made sure to point out the limitations. I remember seeing a similar product called Lok N Blok which has seen some adoption in South America, but it isn’t fully recycled and only uses higher grade plastics.
Nos vendría bien en América del sur ver esas innovaciones, el ladrillo que se utiliza es caro y difícil de trabajar
In 2021 CBS told the story of Material Scientist Nzambi Matee, she is making bricks in Nairobi, Kenya out of plastic waste cluttering the streets of Nairobi. It is truly awesome the work you are doing, encouraging people to do more with plastic. Thank you
It is important to remember that reducing the amount of plastic we have is one step of the battle. Stopping plastic being made for 1 time (or less) use items like superfluous packaging is a very very important and necessary step!
PS: I love their bike shed!
I had the same thoughts, but was having difficulty boiling it down into a couple sentences. Thank you for saying this so concisely!
one day you will reach self awareness for believing ridiculous things, remember this comment when you do.
@@purpleduggy7680 Would you mind elaborating on that?
@@purpleduggy7680yeah because its plastic causing the earth to change climate, you are being deceived, the earth’s climate is constantly changing by forced we cannot control
@@TSIRKLAND all materials in all forms are natural, and can change states back into what they were eventually. if you zoom out of earth, and look at the planet as a whole, the whole ecosystem is natural. even our impacts on the environment. just like how beavers build dams that stop rivers. just because something is done by humans doesn't mean it stops being natural. plastics and microplastics are natural as a natural process and habit of natural mammals, humans. when we are gone in a few million years (or not) the whole process will start from scratch again and new species and ecosystems will emerge and it will be as if we were never even here. plastics worry you because you think you as a human animal are part of a special mammal species who has been assigned as a park ranger, to be apart from other species. essentially arrogance from thinking you have a special ability to alter the environment. we can't even leave the planet properly yet.
If the design for the big bricks were more in line with your Giant Legoish brick I think the Viability becomes more viable then they realize. The ones you guys made can be covered in plaster, mortar, or concrete and filled with foam for sound deadening. I could see them used for quick and easy building foundations which can turn a 90 day modular building project down to a 2-3 week building project time.
I agree about the compatibility issue. Steve Mould showed us that Lego is compatible with Duplo, which is twice as big, and Duplo is compatible with Quatro, which is twice as big. These recycled bricks could be called Octro blocks, and be twice as big. There would need to be 8 "pegs" at the top, and be able to receive the Quatro blocks underneath. As soon as I saw Steve's video, I wanted to try it, and recommend it to these brothers.
You don’t talk about the massive amount of energy it takes to melt the plastic to form the bricks.
And how do suggest going about it? Don't come to the meeting to point out a problem WITHOUT bringing a solution.
🙊🙈🙉 yes because speak and see no evil
Same as massive amount of electricity and water during producing the food and fashion clothing low quality also other massive production plastic sruff. No solution is perfect but as someone below said, you talking about problem but bring no solution
I was wondering about the bricks. It seemed like C11 was reinventing injection molding but without the benefit of the last century's worth of automation innovations. Extruding construction planks is a much better workflow for their machine.
i was thinking the esact same thing . this without the mass production tech IS NOT COMMERCIALLY viable . boards are a great idea .
And the brick design is not the best, not the more strong or neither the more lightweight, even the guy recognizes the design flags.
Seems hard to make a bad plastic brick after growing up with Lego and Duplo... This looks more like an advisement or propaganda...
Its a matter of moulds quantity. 7 minutes with waiting, but if you have a series os moulds you are making more while it cools.
A lot of moulds in a belt, with another of covers closing as they pass, fill 5 width with 5 nozzles, They continue along a cooling water pool, the surface and the cover belt turns back, opening, and the molds also turn back under releasing the brick.
With like 20 molds long , you have 50 bricks every minute, maybe. Thats a lot of bricks.
They dont need to sink themselves with the fire and saggin issues on homes.
Why homes? They need so much to show an eco house?
There are property perimeter walls,
roadside contention walls made of bricks wich will benefit with the strength.
Hey, look, attention please, how many of those bricks you can use on a kid playground making play structures, or even perimeter walls that will look fantastic being like that? Pretty colours, mixed, dotted, without painting when new neither maintenance painting. How many playgrounds?
They can come with lots of aplications without substantial loads, and UV protection is not hard nowadays.
Hey, they even make translucent roof sheets that one side blocks UV and the other dont. How the hell they do that?
And we have issues protecting solid bricks? There is even spray cans to protect them afterwards.
@@xiro6 Bro... Change of dealer...
@@eduardoanonimo3031 was that bad,? Ouch
It may be beneficial to make a more complex mold that extrudes bricks with "I-beam" like fullering properties. Use less material and decrease weight while not losing much in the way of strength.
I don't think that plastic will do well with beams, because they bend too much. I'm not an expert, though. I did up vote your comment.
@@eugenetswong well thanks! Yeah beams would probably bend a bit to a degree, but what I actually had in mind was like their Lego brick design that had some "I-beam" like curvature to the walls.... That said though, if you produced them like a beam but then cut them down to the size of blocks (like a loaf of bread) it might double as a way to make them quicker as well!
Inventive Rube Goldberg exercises for using excess manpower, steps, energy for what? Large lego sets?
I don't think you thought this through, plastics as a construction material is going to promote microplastics leaching into the waterways and the sea, the reason we are trying to curb waste plastic in the first place, also remind me what would happen to any plastic used in construction as a structural material when there is a fire?
@@genome616 in a fire, it would burn, like napalm. However, If there was enough oxygen in the fire it would burn completely.
Right now micro plastics already exist and will be with us forever, but if we learn to recycle that which already exists we will reduce that overall exposure.
One use I can see for the plastic bricks is interior walling. It'd take some work but imagine a ware house, then you bring in a ton of these lego block walls, you could design what ever sized rooms you wanted.
The outdoor furniture that circular11 make looks astounding, they are phenomenenal and the molds keeping the wood grain makes it really just look like spray painted, pressure-treated wood which is so cool.
Such a great use of low grade plastic.
Definitely isn't low grade anymore, that's awesome.
Only UK shipping. 😢 it really does look great.
Love this idea. I'd actually quite like a shed made from these...
They're super cool - so would we. The bike shed at the end looks awesome.
@@BrothersMakeand that's why id like a full size storage shed from them.
@@Crits-Crafts I literally just finished the walls of a concrete shed using these bricks.
@@BrothersMakebus shelters would be great too.
After seeing your round plastic "bricks". I would think you could produce a plastic cabinet set with tilt out drawers for small hardware, sewing notions, etc. The commercially made ones are awfully expensive. Yes, having the commercial ones with the clear drawers is helpful, but I hot glue one of whatever Item I have in the drawer on the front to save time, even on my clear drawer units. The drawer units could interlock similar to the bricks so a person could add sections, or easily dismantle it if it needed to be moved. I think this could be viable for a small scale local production, sort of a "co-op" type setup. One group makes the cabinets, and one group makes the drawers. Just some thoughts.
I like you guys. I love that you’re involved in the conversation and you’re excited and spreading the word but not lying about anything. I think it’s great
My sister recently started a nursery daycare. The small blocks would be perfect for the kids to play with. She's always coming up with creative ways to entertain the kids. And these would be perfect for her and the kids.
That is brilliant. Blocks that size promotes fine & gross motor skills.
Lego exists you know.
Not an great idea because these are still heavy if even one of them fell on a child then it can injury them
I love the idea of the bricks, and I would love to see dome houses being built with them. Yes, I know not many people like dome homes (I don't know why, I find them very esthetically pleasing) but that and/or Santa Fe/adobe style homes. The bricks could be covered with quickcrete or similar compound that would also be nonflammable? I'm not a builder or architect or anything like that, so I'm just making stuff up. I have no idea how feasible any of this would be. Just dreaming. Thank you for the awesome videos!
it would be kinda awkward to put furniture in a room with round walls. and if the walls arent round on the inside part of the point is sorta lost.
@cosmosyn2514 people get curved furniture and plan walls from the curved outside wall to have angles. The walls also serve to separate rooms. The perk is a very, very strong, and thermal efficient home. The downside is that you have to tier the home in multiple levels to have any real Sq ft. It also has that planet Namek look 😂
@@smartwatchonplutooh my god. The planet namek look line was a real knee slapper. Cannot be unseen; 10/10
The plastic can be mixed with sand before cast into a mold to make it less flammable
These are a fantastic idea, but will face the challenge of overcoming what I call 'the inertia of tradition'. Cinder blocks are ubiquitous now, but faced many of the same problems that these bricks face today. Prior to their widespread use, kiln-fired red clay bricks were the go-to building material for most buildings. Then, cinder blocks appeared, and were immediately compared to the standards established by the red bricks for strength, durability, etc. But, as their use increased on smaller projects, it became apparent that they were cheaper and faster to make, easier and faster to build with, and yet still capable of holding up over the long haul for most jobs.
I think it will just take time and finding a niche market (like emergency housing) for these bricks to become mainstream.
One thing I thought of was essentially, tiny houses, in a kit. Preferably palletizable. If they could come up with roof tresses also made of this material, you could have an emergency shelter that could be brought to a natural disaster area, dropped off and built within a few hours. Even an 8'x8' shack is better than sleeping outdoors.
There is another channel I've watched where they make 1"x3"x6' planks out of recycled bottle caps, then use those planks to make park benches. No one worries about sag, or flammability, or UV breaking down the plastic, because park benches are innocuous items.
Here, if you are going up against the building industry directly, you will have a fight. But, if you can find a niche market, like emergency shelters, or sheds, or even raised garden beds, you have a chance to get your foot in the door. Once people start using them in these roles, they will start to wonder why they aren't being used in other roles, like housing for homeless, etc.
Now, I've done some experimenting recycling #2 (HDPE) plastic coffee cans (US here), more as an attempt to see if it could be done at a home kitchen level, more than anything else. Reviews are mixed. I was able to take a couple dozen coffee containers and reduce it down to a blob about the size of a building brick, but that's as far as I went. Basically, reducing the volume of the plastic waste from a garbage bag to a brick. If I didn't live in an apartment building, I would have pushed the experiment a bit further. But, overall, I learned a few things for myself. Sometimes that is where the fun is.
Also, on a side note, one possible solution to the flammability and UV damage problem might be in a coating like adobe. It can help with the thermal properties as well as sealing up any gaps between the bricks. since adobe is applied to a mesh that is attached to the wall, regardless of the wall's building material, it would help with stability as well.
Saggy park benches look run down, so unless there is a way to prevent it, it won't be worth it. Our city already had them as bus stop benches, and I consider them to be a failure. I think recycling them for indoor use is a better idea. Your adobe idea sounds perfect.
I think the niche for this might be owner builders who want to erect their own formwork. The plastic brick can be used as a construction tool. I built a shed using them that everyone keeps asking me if it's made from cinder blocks because of the impression the bricks leave once removed.
@@eugenetswong Sagging is a reaction to several factors. First, it is plastic, which by definition means pliable (bendable), so to minimize sagging, perhaps the planks may need to be engineered more like a beam than a plank. Second, the environment plays a part as well. If you have 2 identical benches, one in say, a spot along a woodland trail in Maine, and the other in downtown Atlanta, I would think they will deteriorate a bit differently, don't you? In a city, there is more usage as well as more toxic chemical exposure (bus exhaust, etc.). Also, I have seen metal benches get saggy over time as well. And don't even get me started on virgin wood planks.
Let us not forget that the reason we are even discussing this subject is to look for ways to reuse and recycle waste plastics, to get them out of the environment and landfills. Which is the bigger failure, a saggy bus stop bench, or a mountain of plastic containers in a landfill?
@@jamesrowlands8971 Yep, I can see that, but there would have to be some redesign of the bricks for that as these do interlock top and bottom, but not end to end. So, some form of tab/slot system would be needed to make them more ridged laterally, otherwise you would get a lot of bending/buckling when pouring the concrete. However, if you were just pouring a footing, they would be alright as is provided you staked the outside of the form well enough.
Now, you said you built a shed with them, using them as a form. I am wondering how high did you go with the form and how thick was the wall? Also, what support did you have to use to keep them upright and in place during the pour? I am genuinely interested to know what the results were by someone that has actually used these.
@@zuzax1656The landfill is better, because it's just a warehouse and because we could retrieve it at a more convenient time. It would make more sense to use cheap metal that doesn't sag. Most metal benches don't sag.
The truth is that we don't have to choose between good benches and landfills.
It's not the government's job to figure out how to make high quality plastic benches.
What if in the disaster relief application you made building tools rather than bricks? Clay brick molds, tempers, connecting hardware for pole structures...
Bricks can be a building tool themselves if used as formwork.
Disaster response notion excited me.
I've been fantasizing making my own recycled plastic bricks for some time. Thank you for all your research 💚
Law of headlines says NO.
if it's a question, the answer is the boring one
Your bricks also look like they’d be useful for stackable bins!
Our charity is using a specific brick shaped bottle called "WaterBricks" to hand pack single use waste plastics into - to build fun rearrangeable brick art, play furniture, etc.... We are looking into covering the brick sculptures with yarn graffiti, and large-scale dye sublimation marketing coverings - as event displays and barricades.... No grinding. No melting. No fumes. Just bread bags and candy wrappers getting packed into something aesthetic and useful. The WaterBrick bottles may be a great place for unwanted mixed 3d print bits too; especially if you don't have a granulator at home!
I see those bricks going little farther than garden walls with decorative sunlight holes, areas between existing posts such as steel carports, interior basement walls, animal pens (waterproof locking required), and perhaps sheds. The furniture tickles my happy spot.
Would suit internal walls. Saw on TH-cam an Indian /African making normal sized bricks out of plastic waste.
I was thinking the same thing.
I was going to say the same thing. I saw an African make houses out of them but he incorporated sand to the mix, and sand under heat and pressure is very strong.
@@giovannacasadio9600Share link with your findings
I've also seen one where they made pavers for sidewalks and stairs out of this material, also adding sand for traction when wet. This was either in the US or in the Caribbean.
have they considered using concrete filler/cover to help the sag/uv?
maybe an overhang and bolt arrangement to bolster the tabs
these look like they'd be great for marine applications. can actually get the value you'd need for them there.
hi how are you My name is Habtamu from Ethiopia. I really like what you guys are up to. I tried this many times before I saw your video, but one day I found you while searching on TH-cam. I am very happy. its very good job
I loved the circular styled bricks that you've made. Personally I haven't got a use for them, but they looked great.
I like them, too, because they appear to be usable as cup holders, or organizers, or something.
Great video. Interesting topic on scalability. Mahalo for sharing!
Framing boards and sheets would make more sense, using a continuous extrusion process.
Seeing both the bricks and the round things, I wonder how plausible it could be to design a fusion of the two, where if you need different shapes, moveability, the round pieces can act as a pivot point connected to the brick ones? The underside could be made in a segmented way to allow the round part to fit snugly and not move/shift around. Plus, perhaps adding things like rebar and some other material to add structure into the gaps, and a coating on top of them and the sides after also.
Could allow for interesting shapes, depending on how the brick pattern is designed I'd imagine.
You could even use Minecraft or similar as a way to work on prototype building ideas as a super bare bones idea for these blocks I'd imagine. If there is a mod/setting to add physics to it, you could then see what would need more supports in builds also.
Best of luck in your journey for this product.
This is absolutely amazing. People like this are going to make the world a better place. Way to go!
I've been in construction in the Northeast USA for 15 years and I've never encountered the word "render" before. I looked it up and it refers to a coating on masonry like stucco, which is pretty much what I got from the context of the video. Maybe "render" is used in areas of the USA where stucco is more common, but it seems to be common in the UK.
Thanks for sharing your search results.
Render is also the word we use in Australia.
There's actually companies around the world that are doing similar things, making building materials out of recycled materials. They tend to be a mix of plastic or rubber with clay or sand or other material. That allows them to be less flammable, but I don't know about uv resistance.
I love this project so much.
Hi, a few questions if I may. Any outgassing or leaching of harmful chemicals into the environment? Does the plastic lend itself to additives to help with fire resistance? Same question but about incorporating for example metal into the top joining lugs to aid in strength and rigidity? Or even adding strength through an alternative manufacturing process such as lamination like plywood or osb.
if the plastic only melts and doesn't burn, it doesn't smoke and release chemicals, all plastics have a melting point and burning point
@@sigataros hi, thanks for your response but I was more curious about over the long term. How inert is the plastic in the brick, does it breakdown/decompose and off gas or leach chemicals into its environment. Would they be safe to use to build a raised bed that is used to grow vegetables for example.
@@sigatarosI don't understand your comment. The plastic in the video smoked...or maybe some other chemical coming out of the extruder.
I made an updated design which has gaps in the sides of the brick where you can put timber or steel to reinforce it. Plastics can emit harmful chemicals as they degrade either if they are burnt, or from UV radiation, and would do so in a landfill just as readily as in a building. These concepts are about keeping the plastic out of landfill, not producing more of it.
@@sigataros off gassing will occur even at room temperature. When it's heated up that will both accelerate and perhaps cause further chemicals to be released. You don't need to reach the burning point of the plastic for this to occur.
Heavy duty plastic moulded shipping pallets for Air dropping of Humanitarian supplies that could be slotted all together and bolted. To make a curved style roof covering for small aid shelter when put on top of a simple dry stone wall.
great job guys have a good weekend to the team and the brothers
Thanks so much, have an awesome weekend too 🤙🏼♻️
thanks lads @@BrothersMake
Hello, your homeland is wonderful. I wish you good health and success❤❤❤❤❤❤
I like what you guys are doing. I am saving up to be able to replicate sone of the things you guys do.
I think this would be adopted faster as a fencing system. In my area the local law requires an engineer to certify a plan for a brick wall, but plastic would be a long-lasting alternative.
=) Can't wait to see these guys do well with their recycling.
The thermal shrinkage makes the bricks come out sooooo smoothly
As honorable as the bricks for buildings is, I think there will always be "one more" hurdle. I considered making adaptive equipment: walking canes, walking sticks, AFOs, PLSOs, forearm crutches, hand grip build ups for people who can't hold an average sized spoon handle.
These would be great in an enrichment playground.
I love this idea. Couple questions:
1. Looks like a labor intensive process. Is it economically viable?
2. Does concrete adhere to it?
3. Could you mix in ground car tire rubber?
4. Wouldn't it be better to extrude a long profile and cutting it in bricks instead of making individual bricks one by one?
I developed a derivative design based on Rory's brick for use as formwork and I can tell you that concrete absolutely does adhere to PE! But you can use diesel or a proprietary release agent to prevent that.
Without an automated tool, they are not even viable for self-use.
Additives will make the bricks weaker.
Extruding profiles and then cutting them and adding teeth could be a good way to make these bricks, if it could be done with the required precision.
Love the channel, interesting video. Turning what you are doing, and others who have the same enthusiasm, trying to make it profitable is certainly challenging.
As someone who used to work in injection moulding and tool making it takes a huge amount of money and resources to run a business.
I was wondering what resources are available to you to purchase an injection moulding machine Arburg are small and reliable. Also the recycling process was one we had. Love what you are doing. Making a difference. Best wishes to you and the team.
Love the video - I'll be doing more research such as, types of plastic that can be used HDPE? ABS?, how to paint, insulating properties, and so on.
If you plan to manufacture any bricks, then please make them compatible with Quatro blocks, which are compatible with Duplo blocks, which are compatible with Lego blocks.
You can use any plastic, but some plastics require a workspace which can filter the toxic fumes.
They're pretty insulative.
But I personally used them as formwork, rather than as a construction material.
If it doesn't take hold in the construction market. Might I suggest the kids toy market? I would have loved these as a 8 year old boy.
@LincolnBlockInc have similar blocks from waste wood offcuts. They join them with a bead of Silkaflex sealant/adhesive and fill the voids inside the walls by shooting expanding foam down from above before capping them off.
Put a hole in the sides too so a rebar can slide through and it can be filled with concrete if needed. Use the wall as an interior wall, clad the outside as you would with concrete block, frame the inside for drywall or just screw drywall right to the plastic wall, as they do in an Interlocking Styrofoam concrete wall system.
I really like the concept and honestly, using this method would actually help with housing crisis and even plastic waste.
These fellas are basically making Lego but big boy sized
The materials aren't a significant factor in the crisis. Mismanagement is the main issue.
Awesome. Would love to build something with these.
I think and hope their business model takes off and is very successful to become more mainstream to replace the brick construction commodity
Imagine they have multiple sets of plumbing built right into the blocks, that get lined after assembly? For plumbing and electrical and whatnot already all just tunneled perfectly room to room.
Hi, I really enjoyed your videos and I'm learning a lot from it. I'm a design student and also a diver, so I want to create something using ocean waste. I was wondering if you know of any techniques/ways to recycle ropes, nets & fish cages(?) :)
Hola muy bueno ! Se podria contar con las especificaciones para hacer el molde?
I love the concept of taking old recycled plastic and making useful things from them. I was thinking with the increased need of trees for ecofriendly packging that it would be great to use such plastic as telephone poles. Would their flammability prevent them from being used for that? Could they could be used for road side gaurd rails? Is there any concern that your products leech chemicals into the environment when used? It is far better for the plastic to be recreated into something else than to have it slowly decomposing in the environment unused.
I think the gold standard for success with the brick idea would be a portable machine to make the bricks in situ. Trying to ramp up a factory process to supply global demand for building material that meets diverse global codes is a big task. Being able to provide that pop-up shelter idea with a portable machine that eats the trash already fouling the local environment might be a lot more effective.
What about micro plastics creeping into nature and eventually into the food we eat? These plastic bricks will actually speed up that process.
Curious, in Florida the homes are built with cement cylinders/bricks,then the walls are covered with stucco. Could the stucco over plastic bricks prevent the breakdown and deal with the flammability issues?
They'd have to figure out how to make the surfaces more porous so that cement/stucco could hold onto the bricks. The one unfortunate thing about HDPE plastic is that it's very difficult to adhere or stick things too. Making a porous surface may be very difficult to make in moulds. There'd be high probability of stucco/cement flaking off
I love the bricks. I got some off Ben back in early 2021. It is amazing to see how much they have grown and the positive impact they are having.
Considering that a lot of people live in cardboard boxes, tin shacks and mud huts, this is a superior product. I love it. ❤
I imagine that different sizes of slabs of plastic that is to be bolted together to form rooms is a bad idea.
Great video
You should see if you can get a tour of Johnson controls clam shell facility in Washington state I used to work there when I was young, I think you could really learn something about plastic extrusion, your loosing a lot of structure by not beeding your remelt before you send it to your auger for extrusion, it's basically mashing it self between the blades of the auger
Love the idea, just wondering how these materials would hold against a disasters such as earthquakes, flash floods, etc.
So they got the idea by seeing people in remote areas that are burning plastic waste due to a lack of waste handling infrastructure. How does this help them? What are the energy requirements to melt the plastic for a brick? What is the footprint of a facility that can make these? What is the demand? What is the supply of plastic waste that can actually be recycled using this process as a percentage of burned waste in that area?
In concept, I love it. Recycling waste when we can in a sustainable way is what we should be striving for. But in practice, how would this functionally help people? How would a village in Nepal actually stop burning plastic waste because they're producing these bricks? Feels very, "I had holiday backpacking in an underdeveloped rural area and I had this amazing idea" when the actual thing that will help people that need to burn plastic is actual waste management infrastructure and that's it's own local, political, headache that needs to be resolved by the Nepalese government, no?
I've been wanting to do this for years but have no idea how to start! I actually helped out at some plastic recycling in Indonesia which was a good experinece! But any tips/advice/ would be really helpful!
Make them like Lego Bricks. Simple, yet diverse. Changing the function of Jumbo Lego bricks to be more like concrete cinder blocks, and you get the best of both worlds. Maybe also add something to the plastic mix to add some additional strength and other benefits, like a plastic alloy. Maybe Glass? Aluminum? Just throwing Ideas.
How are you detected tipe of plastic? What the detector are you use? Thx
Honestly, I think we really need to start prioritizing nice plastic furniture. After all, the problem with plastic is that it lasts for a long time. Why are we not taking advantage of that. Plastic would be perfect for products that we keep. And yet, when we make water bottles, we tend to replace plastic bottles for metal. I suppose we could try using recycled plastic coating to prevent rust. Plastic housing however homes yea we tend to keep those but in the exterior tends to see abuse and erosion, releasing microplastics.
These bricks are such a cool idea!
Looking forward to a future when these become more commercially viable.
Circular 11 look like they are making some great moves!! :D
I think where many small inventors with building block ideas fail is practical application on construction sites and most important, funding. To scale any of these ideas, you'll need millions just to develop the product properly and then upwards of 50 million to get it off the ground - mostly marketing and trial buildings. I check these types of ideas every time I come across them - cool stuff, but the main thing lacking all the time is flexibility on site - and design/structural options. The ideal product should make engineer's and architect's lives easier, as well as plumbers, electricians and so on. If you can build elements into these types of blocks that speed up work for a multitude of other trades as well as a faster build - you have a winner. Anything that requires trades, engineers and architects to adapt to your product at a compromise will never go anywhere.
Just because a product uses up waste material and might be Eco-friendly means nothing in the construction industry where current costs are skyrocketing. A new product must reduce material cost or labour costs (or both)... or it won't be adopted over existing products everyone is familiar with.
I used some plastic planks for deck boards on my bering sea crabber..
The boards got smashed hard every day. 900#lb crab pots drug across them with hardly a scratch. Durability and longevity. Great material.
Add some recycled pallet wood for the form, now you got roads out in the boonies for years to come, easy material to get to maintain the roads.
Interconnecting planks would be a big hit. Inch thick maximum, use case could be fencing as well as housing with outer planks like the case of wood cabins, providing protection to elements minimising need for insulation, and relying on wood or metal for structural support and also pest and corrosion resistant. The weakness to UV could be affordably combated by using UV reflective paint, UV reflective vinyl or in emergency scenarios, using recycled milk cartons with the reflective side exposed to the elements.
A New Zealand company Makes recycled plastic farm fence posts, They ad a compound to the plastic for added UV protection.
I just watched a youtube video ,where guys in kenya made the first Boat ,made of recycled plastic, the most important thing they said is they did not Burn the plastic ,they MELT IT.
Yep, exactly! Big difference
@@BrothersMake is it better to melt it , also would plastic be warm enough for the Antarctic
what a fascinating product! these days i am going to conduct an experiment to produce sand reinforced plastic panel sample and how can i build a "small furnace with an extrusion tip" simpy at home?
Instead of making the bricks, make 2x's r", 7", 8", 10" and 12". Those could be used in non-loadbearing situations. Add rebar inside to use in load bearing scenarios. That solves the problem of scale. Also, UV stabilizers are available. Could also make concrete forms or other shapes.
I noticed that the company does not sell the bricks anymore. It is a shame. I think it is a great idea.
You should start to sell similar kinds of molds that would allow people to assemble a workbench or desk out of these molds (using these big bricks)
The round ones look like cup holders in cars. I think eventually someone will find a good use for those. I'm glad people are thinking about it 😊
Skimming a layer of Portland cement over the surface could mitigate the UV damage and provide fire protection.
In the end you made dimentional "lumber." That in itself seems a significant reuse. Show us how you made them, please.!
Some people don’t understand:
•they cost more cuz it’s more effort
•it’s worth the effort because they’re sacrificing it to reduce plastic waste
•they’re recycled, read the description and their website. If you don’t want recycled buttons, go to the store
•they make more than just buttons
Learn to read and comprehend, this is so simple.
Very nice 🎉
I’m more concerned about the microplastics and nanoplastics these bricks and outdoor furniture would cause. Over all it’s probably better than just throwing plastic out.
They're a solution for microplastics, not the other way around.
@@jamesrowlands8971a «solution» does not rely on the continuation of the problem
It's like you don't know what you're talking about at all...
I live in Tucson AZ and our city recycles plastic into bricks through a company in CA called ByFusion.
My dad always said that if people could find a way how to make houses from lego it would make really sturdy homes. Looks like this company has the starting pieces.
i was just about to say that this would be a great idea for lego-like bricks and then you made them! and it could be a really cool thing to gift them to kids in a local community, or even have the kids help out in collecting the plastic? and have it become a teaching moment where they learn about how plastic is recycled?? i'm just spitballing here haha
A beautiful thing about these blcoks is that people can donate them to thrift stores after they lose interest in playing with them.
Ikea houses? I am 100% on board with that.
I would love to see y'all with with Weta Workshop. Those kiwis know where it's at.
Really great effort done for idea of recycling plastic but to be more reliable blocks
It must be resist fire by adding sand or recycled old buildings demolishing materials this will enhance and add another value by recycle buildings produced waste or agriculture waste
Am civil engineer therefore interesting about recycling construction
My main concern with using plastic bricks for housing purposes is fire. You can prevent fires by using non-flammable coatings and such, but fire is basically inevitable at some point, under some circumstance. In which case- the plastic will melt, will burn, will cause toxic smoke- even worse than a fire in a wood timber house, I should think! I am no materials expert, nor a fire expert. This is simply my impression, based on what little I do know. I would be curious to know from professionals and researchers, what the fire risks might actually be.
On the other hand, using it for things like sheds, like the bike shelter shown in the video at 15:16 - I could definitely see that being a thing. Bus stop shelters. Community playgrounds. Park pavilions. Backyard sheds. Things that are relatively small, not load bearing, not places where people would be living and sleeping.
Housing is obviously a very big market; one that could potentially use a lot of materials, one that could- if done right- be commercially very successful. But it also has safety concerns and scalability concerns. That's why I feel that focusing on smaller-scale applications might be the better way to go.
I have other thoughts about sourcing materials, the sustainability of the whole plastic industry, from raw materials to first-use plastics to recycled plastics, etc, etc, etc. But it's too complex and jumbled to set it down here. Good luck to you guys, to everyone who is trying to find sustainable solutions to the challenges of plastic in our world!
Well, Brothers. He is engaged in useful experiments and very necessary work. WE ALSO process plastic and carry out experiments mixing plastic with various materials: talc, sand, waste from thermal power plants - ash and sludge, rubber waste, glass where plastic acts as a binder. I think this option is more economical than making products from plastic alone.
Today it is possible to produce by hot pressing
paving slabs, tactile tiles, paving stones of various shapes, curbs, manholes with covers, park benches and many other products can be obtained using this technology and, most importantly, in this case it is possible to use not very clean plastic as for granulation.
It’s a pity that this issue is being solved more by enthusiasts and more at their own expense, while the authorities and big business are not particularly interested yet, since this activity is very labor-intensive (if we put it on an industrial basis) and does not bring much money at the moment.
If you ask why you are doing this, I will tell you that working with polymer and its mix is reminiscent of ALCHEMY.
I'd donate to the research of it for it. I honestly thought of places like in swamps bayous or like new Orleans, and then the one guy mentioned disaster relief or pop-up shelters I don't know what the effects of plastics being under fresh or saltwater for an extended period would be, but it could be really good for foundations that are typically underwater for extended periods of time, the sun amd fire drawback wouldn't bother the bricks as much.. however after all that I'm pretty sure they have 3D printed houses from plastic right? And if you could transport the plastic to the printer and print on site then that would seem so much more feasible..
Seems to me that the bricks geometry needs to change adding texture to the outside of the bricks to allow easy plastering to encapsulate the material would be beneficial. Obviously plaster would block out the UV and mitigate off gasing problems. Also the voids inside the blocks could be reinforced with concrete and rebar that would increase the cost and environmental impact but that could make for a structure that would be more stable.
Seems like the sort of bricks that _can_ be high value... I'd be thinking far more around reusable brick _system_ for creating forms for casting concrete, rammed earth, etc. The toughness there could be a sell for a variety of markets.
Cool concept, Life size Legos!
It’s bizarre that Lego hasn’t jumped on this idea.