en.Wedoany.com Reported - Colombia's Conceptos Plásticos has developed a process that melts and molds discarded plastic into interlocking bricks. A four-person team can assemble a 40-square-meter house with two bedrooms in about five days using these bricks, at a construction cost of approximately $6,800.
The company was founded in 2011 by architects Óscar Méndez and Fernando Llanos. The duo initially came together due to a practical problem: while building a house in Cundinamarca, Llanos found it nearly impossible to transport construction materials from Bogotá. After numerous trials, they turned this temporary solution into a patented method.
Llanos later met Óscar Méndez, whose thesis at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá happened to cover this very topic. Together, they founded Conceptos Plásticos and patented a system using recycled plastic bricks and pillars to build structures up to two stories high. They chose to use discarded waste plastic rather than new plastic, as this type of garbage takes an average of about 300 years to decompose. The brick raw materials come from plastic waste discarded by recyclers and factories, melted through an extrusion process and injected into molds to produce bricks weighing approximately 3 kilograms, with dimensions similar to clay bricks. The bricks are assembled through pressure fitting, eliminating most traditional masonry work. The finished bricks offer thermal and acoustic insulation, contain flame-retardant additives, and their seismic resistance meets standards for Colombia's earthquake-prone regions.
With this system, a four-person team can deliver a 40-square-meter house with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, bathroom, and kitchen in five days. The company won a tender from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to build temporary shelters for 42 families displaced by armed conflict in Guapi, southwestern Colombia. The project, completed in 28 days by 15 people, recycled over 200 tons of plastic. The shelters were designed for mobility and hot climates, with roofs improving ventilation and lighting, and were equipped with electrical facilities, bathrooms, and three communal kitchens.
In 2016, Conceptos Plásticos represented Colombia in The Chivas Venture competition, defeating 26 other international projects to win a $300,000 grant to expand global production. The award helped the small company, with fewer than 15 employees, gain attention both domestically and internationally.
