Recycling reduces the amount of waste put into landfills but it’s not necessarily better for the environment and it doesn’t always stack up economically.
But a Dunedin inventor Peter Lewis has come up with a machine which turns plastic waste into bricks which might stack up.
His Byfusion machine has been operating at the Green Island landfill for eight years and since the ODT gave it publicity he’s had approaches from around the world from people interested in buying one.
The prototype at the Green Island landfill can swallow most types of raw plastic – from drink bottles to meat packaging – where it was washed, dried and compacted into a plastic block.
Each brick is formed from 10kg of plastic, and could be used for garden retaining or landscaping walls, and had other potential uses including as shock absorbers behind crash barriers.
Consideration was being given to using the products to build hurricane and tsunami shelters in the Pacific Islands, or cheaper sustainable housing where wood is scarce.
The machine’s main source of interest for buyers was its ability to turn millions of tonnes of plastic, which took many years to break down in landfills, into something of continued use, he said.
I’ve been a reluctant recycler since reading about problems with workers’ health and air and water pollution in recylcing plants in China.
But from what I’ve read the Byfusion machine turns plastic waste into bricks without endangering the health of workers or the environment. If he gets the investment he needs to expand, Mr Lewis and his comapny will also make a significant contribution to the Dunedin economy.
Homepaddock 