By: Grace M.
Photo from: ByFusion
Both plastic and construction waste have a massive impact on the world. 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year and can take upwards of a thousand years to fully decompose, with only 8.5% of it being recycled. Contributing to this is the construction industry, filling 3 billion square yards of landfill with construction/demolition debris and unused materials every year (Marc Spiegel, rubicon.com). Not only is the planet plagued with tons of plastic waste that sits in landfills or pollutes the oceans, we also have waste from the construction industry which includes air and water pollution from toxins in glues, paints, and other toxic chemicals. Thanks to entrepreneur Gregor Gomory, the ByFusion Blocker was invented which uses recycled and non-recyclable plastic waste to create building materials for construction sites, finding a solution for both types of waste.
A RePlast Block (byfusion.com)
Gregor Gomory created the company ByFusion, inspired by New Zealand engineer Peter Lewis who originally came up with the concept. Gomory created a mobile machine that transforms all types of plastic waste into construction materials through shredding and heating plastic into bricks, which tackles both the pollution of plastic waste as well as the pollution that is caused by the construction industry. These blocks are the same size as standard cement blocks, but can be manufactured in different weights and densities to better suit different kinds of construction projects. Currently, the machine is capable of producing 7,000 blocks a day, having a drastically smaller carbon footprint than concrete with 95% lower greenhouse gas emissions during production (thecivilengineer.org). ByFusion sources it’s plastic from coastal communities and landfills while simultaneously not requiring adhesive or added chemicals, two pollutants of construction sites. Since adhesives aren’t used, demolition isn’t necessary and the bricks can be disassembled to be reused.
Athletic pavilion made from ByFusion Bricks (byfusion.com)
In the U.S., ByFusion is just starting up. In summer 2020, ByFusion worked together with a school and a nonprofit to help turn the marine debris on the coasts of Kauai, Hawaii and into an athletic pavilion for Island School. This project reused 2.4 tons of plastic that had been polluting Kauai’s coasts. Along with this project came a Lifeguard post in Los Angeles also made out of the plastic bricks. While there haven’t been many buildings made out of ByFusion yet, these two structures are a step in the right direction. The easily assembled bricks that require no adhesive save money and energy during construction, beginning a change in the construction industry. Right now, ByFusion is selling their blocks on their website for anyone to preorder and use. While the actual Blocker machine isn’t available for purchase, the byblocks have easier accessibility to the public, encouraging anyone to start building more sustainably. Although plastic production is only increasing, ByBlock shows promise for making recyclable construction material a widespread phenomenon.
Discussion Questions:
Do you think these blocks could eventually become widespread or a normal aspect of everyday life? Why or why not?
If you were given the resources or money to build any invention to make the world more environmentally friendly, what would it be?