PLASTIC WASTE
The concrete solution to
PLASTIC WASTE
Plastic waste is an enormous global problem, with only 9.5% of plastics being recycled yearly. The other 90.5% is either incinerated, or ends up in landfills and the ocean. By Nombulelo Manyana
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nly 21% of the 1.5 million tonnes of waste generated yearly in South Africa is recycled. The rest, like in many other countries across the world, ends up landfilled or in the environment. In terms of socio-economic numbers, South Africa has a severe housing shortage, with the housing backlog reportedly sitting at 2.3 million houses, and growing by around 178 000 houses a year. South Africa’s official unemployment rate has also risen to a staggering 32.5% between October and December 2020, with 11.1 million people currently out of work. Although these statistics may seem shocking, the Centre for Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC) believes that they also present a unique opportunity. With the introduction of what they call a new innovative technology, the CRDC will not only help mitigate the growing waste problem but will also create jobs, boost informal waste collection and solve some of South Africa’s other major problems by building houses, hospitals, schools and roads.
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ReSource
RESIN8 – which is the CRDC’s groundbreaking, regenerative solution to South Africa’s unmanaged plastic waste – is a breakthrough concrete modifier made from mixed plastic waste. It can take any type of waste plastics and convert them into high-value concrete modifier that perfectly simulates construction sand. Deon Robber tze, manager: Business Development and Communications at CRDC, says the RESIN8 technology represents a “crossindustry collaboration between CRDC, leading plastic, waste management, construction industries and NGOs.”
Who is CRDC? CRDC is a global company with its roots in Costa Rica. Founded by Donald Thomson in 2010 as a volunteer-based beach clean-up programme, it is presently recognised internationally for its contributions towards sustainable product design. CRDC comprises a diverse, multidisciplinary group of experts in the packaging and food/beverage industries, conservationists and award-winning designers working to create products, industrial
processes and economic models that provide socio-economic and environmental benefits. The company also operates in South Africa, with a pilot plant based in Cape Town. Through its net-zero-focused business model, REAP (Recover – Enrich – Appreciate – Prosper), CRDC has created collaborative relationships between diverse industries, where the waste stream of one can become the value stream for the next.
RESIN8 RESIN8 is a process that can turn any plastic – dir ty or clean and in any form – into concrete modifier. The end results are environmentally friendly products that incorporate regenerated waste plastics, which would other wise be destined for landfills. Through the REAP process, all types of postindustrial and consumer plastic waste are recovered using different avenues, as shown in the figure below. Then, while coexisting with them, natural systems can be regenerated and enriched.
