Humans produce 1.3 billion tons of solid waste every year. The main cause of such a large volume of waste is inadequate waste recycling. Most waste is not processed or recycled. Human-caused depressions, such as landfills, seep through the ground and cause severe soil degradation, air pollution, infiltration and groundwater pollution, and have visual and health effects. Construction sites contribute to significant air pollution. This includes the removal, demolition, incineration of toxic materials, etc. The recycling of construction waste not only saves natural resources but also saves energy.
So here are 5 ways to upcycle construction junk:
Newspaper Wood
Start by accumulating paper, paper towels, and rolls of toilet paper. The pages of old newspapers are rolled up very tightly and look like a block of wood. A special water-soluble adhesive is used to hold the parts together. The result is a material that has exactly the same properties as wood and can be cut, milled and sanded. Newspaper wood is very elegant and elegant when used as part of its interior.
Bottle Bricks
Bottles not only serve as storage containers in kitchens but they can also be used to build structures. Companies have already started manufacturing cuboid bottles to facilitate their transport. By turning plastic bottles into bricks, many houses could be built in developing countries in the most cost-effective way. Plastic bottles are filled with garbage to compact them like bricks.
TDP (Tire-Derived Products)
Recycled or shredded tires are obtained from the tire shredding process where tire chips are processed through tire shredders is fused into many products used for building construction both inside and outside. Most TDP sellers provide documentation on recycled content or other advantages that can help with the green building requirements.
- Accessibility Ramps – Unlike other construction materials such as aluminium, wood and plastic, ramps made from recycled rubber have no weight limits. Rubber ramps are solid, durable and slip-resistant. They can be installed in minutes and do not require jackhammering or concrete saw cutting.
- Flooring – Curved rubber in tires is widely used to manufacture a wide variety of floor coverings, such as tiles, rolled floors, and rubber floor coverings. They can be fixed under tiles, wood or synthetic turf to improve padding or provide vapour protection.
- Sealants – Crumb rubber is added to a variety of sealants and fillings to enhance the functioning. The application includes sealing surfaces and repairing and reducing erosion. The crumb is added to acrylic paint to make the perfect sealant.
Plasphalt
It is one of the greatest inventions that could help save the modern world and reduce its negative impact. Plasphalt is made up of grains of plastic produces from plastic waste which substitutes for sand and gravel. Asphalt mixture blends better with plastic than with gravel or sand. Plasphalt roads are at a far lower risk of wear and tear than regular asphalt.
Recycled Blocks
Bricks made by recycling old plastic bags are known as Recycled blocks. Old plastic bags are difficult to recycle in any other way. The bags are heated and forced together to form the blocks. They are extremely light in weight to act as load-bearing walls, so they can be used to divide walls and corridors.
There has been a huge effort to recycle and reuse for years. Before throwing all the rubble into a garbage container such as a 2 or 4-yard dumpster to be disposed of in a landfill, try to breathe new life into these materials by reusing or donating them. Take a stand responsibly rather than making the place we live in a mere dumping ground. Developers and owners should consider building materials with recycled content. Resources with recycled content are available both for exterior and interior uses.
Recycled wood products for cabinets and countertops made from glass and plastic are not just appealing but also add a lot of character to your apartment or condo. Reducing, reusing and recycling helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, limits the amount of landfill space created and lessens humanity’s environmental footprint.
Author Bio:
Erich Lawson is very passionate about the environment and is an advocate of effective recycling. He writes on a wide array of topics to inform readers about how modern recycling equipment can be used by industries to reduce monthly waste bills and increase recycling revenue. You can learn more about environment-saving techniques by visiting his blog on Compactor Management Company.