Recycling doesn’t always mean chemically separating things into component parts, or finding a new life for an old object. An LA-based startup is proving that landfills need not be dug for plastics, if one can merely smash enough of them together into a Minecraft-like block.
103 tons of nonrecyclable plastics, in fact, have been diverted from entombment since the company was founded, all through ByFusion’s patented machines known as “Blockers.” Blockers have a simple yet ingenious design. They shred the plastic, and then apply mass multiplied by acceleration repeatedly, until the “nonrecyclable plastic” is so squished together that it fuses.
Composite plastics have advanced the world standard of living no end, but often they tend to be unrecyclable.
Many minds are trying to develop thermal or chemical methods of separating the polymers in these materials to allow them to be recycled. ByFusion have avoided this problem by cutting out that middleman and simply turning the material as is into a new, composite, and ridiculously durable construction block.
Called “ByBlocks,” they are a simple 16x8x8 shape and can be used to build bus stops, fences, retaining walls, curtain walls, public terraces, and more.
ByFusion’s full-service operation in LA can process 450 tons of plastic per year into blocks, and hope to install 12 more Blockers soon.
They have partnered with cities across the country, from the island of Kauai, to Boise in Idaho, to get as many blockers into the hands of people who want to use them.
A big advantage of the Blockers is their indiscrimination; they turn every kind of plastic, even fishing nets, into blocks of the same material properties. The only thing they can’t tackle is polystyrene or Styrofoam.
Not one ounce of adhesive glue, mortar, or any kind of extra substance is used. If 22 pounds of plastic go in, a 22 pound block comes out.
The machines come in two sizes, one for industry, and another for community. The latter comes in a shipping container, while the former features an array of blockers for companies that really crank out the plastic waste.
Source Good News Network
January 28, 2022
There has been a growing trend towards environmentally-friendly death practices in recent years. Sustainable mushroom coffins decompose quickly and enrich the soil with human compost. Loop Biotech, a company that produces these eco-friendly coffins, aims to revolutionize the funeral industry by offering sustainable alternatives to traditional coffins made of wood and metal.
Fast Fashion brands like Forever 21, Zara, Primark, and many more designed official Barbie clothing lines. NYX Cosmetics released a Barbie-inspired makeup set, and a Burger King in Brazil even made a pink barbecue sauce. If you didn’t own something Barbie pink and wanted to see the movie, you wouldn’t have to go far or spend a lot of money.
Christchurch leaders are considering joining a United Nations-linked climate change initiative that could lead to parts of the city becoming “zero emission zones”, meaning no petrol-guzzling cars, by 2025.
Rooftop farms are not the only way Singapore aims to increase the amount of food it grows. Most of the country's home-grown produce comes from high-tech facilities that are heavily subsidised by the government.
