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Living in a bottle

            Everyday we hear of stories of how plastic rubbish that is discarded is used to create innovative products. Here is a story of a house that has been made entirely of recycled materials.

The house in Argentina has walls that are made of 1,200 PET bottles and its ceiling is made from more than 1,300 Tetra Pak cartons. The doors and windows are made of 140 CD cases and furniture (settee and bed) of over 300 PET bottles.

This unusual house was constructed by Alfredo Santa Cruz and his family, who undertook the mission of demonstrating the value of the materials we throw away on a daily basis.

The family is now conducting free courses about construction with recovered materials (asking only for travel expenses and a place to stay) with the idea of expanding this practice so that more people are able to build with waste.

There are more such stories. A few years ago, a Serbian professor built a house out of plastic bottles. It took him five years and 13,500 bottles to build the 60 sq m house that does have concrete for the foundation and other salient parts of the house.

In Guatemala, a Peace Corps volunteer collected 6,000 bottles to construct a school building. And in case you are wondering how it was done, the bottles were filled with all sorts of plastic rubbish, like plastic bags and other waste, and these were placed in a metal structure that had to be filled up again with more plastic rubbish, before it was cemented to stick the bottles together to shape a wall!

In another example, using some 8,000 PET bottles, a consulting company EcoTec created the Casa Ecológica (Ecological House) in Honduras. A so-called green roof made from sod and turf is said to insulate the house better than conventional roofs. The 102 sq m roof, which weighs 30 tonnes when wet, uses walls made of PET bottles to support the weight.

Though a house made of plastic bottles may not be able to stand up to tough weather conditions (unless it has a more sturdy foundation) it stays well insulated – cool in the summer and warm in the winter – say the home owners of the above examples.

Editor’s note: For more photos on the houses above, check out:
www.greendiary.com/entry/amazing-houses-made-from-recycled-plastic-bottles/

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Company News

PTT’s plant on schedule
Thailand’s largest polyolefins producer PTT Chemicals has put to rest concerns about delays of its new plant and will start it up this month. The plant will, however, run at a lower capacity due to lower feedstock supply.
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Higher supply of PE and PP in India
Though set up in 2006, Indian company ONGC Petro Additions (OPAL) is only now starting its polyolefins business having announced the set up of a 340,000 tonnes/year PP plant and two 360,000 tonnes/year LLDPE/HDPE plants.
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Indian buyer for Chemtura’s additives business
Indian companies are beginning to make headlines as Artek Aterian, which is part of Indian chemical company Artek Surfin Chemicals and US-based Aterian Investment Partners, has emerged as the buyer of Chemtura’s PVC additives business.
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Reliance ups offer for polyolefins maker
Another Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has increased its offer for Netherlands-based LyondellBasell Industries to US$14.5 billion, from the reported US$13.5 billion it made last year.
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Total takeover of PS facility
Total Petrochemicals of France has expressed interest in taking over a PS facility in Feluy, after its owner Polimeri’s decision to cease production.
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Still not out of the woods
The 2009 financial results announced by chemical majors, like Dow Chemical, Clariant, Wacker, DuPont, Sabic, DSM and PolyOne, amidst cautious optimism for 2010 reveal improvements in the final quarter, with most reporting better growth in emerging markets like China and a modest growth in Europe and the US.
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Asians post stronger results
While chemical companies from the US and Europe are still grappling with the economic situation, Asian companies like Titan Chemicals and Songwon are reporting stronger results.
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Materials News

CNT-based composite material to drive cars
Advanced Composites Group (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco, is engaged in a EUR3.4 million project to develop a new composite material that could power a car.
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New grades of CNTs expand possibilities
With CNTs creating interest in the market, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) has introduced an improved CNT grade and CNT-based conductive inks while Arkema has expanded its Graphistrength range of products.
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Stations cushioned with foam
The rumbling noise in train stations can be quite disorientating and may even have a detrimental effect on the hearing of commuters. But 25 stations in Seoul, South Korea, that run the Metro Line 9 do not have this problem.
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Thinnest extruded sheet from PC resin
Japanese Teijin Chemicals has developed a transparent, flame-retardant PC resin that is capable of extruding sheet with a thickness of 1.5 mm, making it the thinnest transparent sheet of this type.
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Machinery News

Reducing blow moulding costs
While Canadian Amsler Equipment has introduced an electric reheat stretch blow moulding machine that saves 50% energy costs, German Krones has developed the MouldXpress Advanced system to reduce mould changeover times by up to 75%.
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Asia “bright spot” for German machine makers
German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers’ sales fell less sharply than feared in 2009, helped by exports to Asian countries like India, says the country’s plastics and machinery association VDMA.
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More profiles, at lower speeds
KraussMaffei Berstorff has extended its new range of conical profile extruders, for profile extrusion, with the lower output KMD 43 K/P.
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Exhibition News

Italian trade show shifts dates
The triennial Plast show will now be held in May instead of March to avoid clashing with the triennial NPE show in the US, which has also changed its scheduled holding in June to March.
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Rubber Journal Asia

Banking on better growth this year
Most tyre companies, like Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin, reported declining sales and profits due to the weak automotive market and currency exchanges last year while carbon black suppliers Cabot and Yokohama reported better results, mainly due to lower raw material prices.
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. Injection Moulding Asia

PC glazing push in Japan
To push forward the use of PC glazing in the Japanese automotive industry, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Plastic Technology and Kyowa Industrial have set up a joint research programme.
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Thinnest LED
Japanese moulder Nissei Industries has produced what is says is the industry’s thinnest low-profile side view light-emitting diode (LED) for use on thin profile mobile phones.
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Research on saving energy
A research agreement has been set up between machinery maker KraussMaffei and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) to study energy saving in plastics processing.
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Temperature controllers made easy
When Moretto asked moulders about their requirements for temperature controllers, most mentioned the cost, easy installation and easy operation. Keeping this in mind, the Italian auxiliary supplier has developed the Teko temperature control range.
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Compact and affordable
US-based machinery maker Milacron has introduced a compact range of hydraulic injection moulding machines for processors who may be weighing the pros and cons of buying used hydraulic machinery or who may be looking at all-electrics.
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