THE IDEA AND THE BRICK

PlastoBrick started in late 2019 with one singular goal: replace conventional, environmentally damaging, and expensive types of construction such as bricks, wood, and cement with a material that exists all around us: plastic. Specifically, waste plastic. Just imagine the possibilities of being able to reutilize all the used plastic just lying around and damaging our environment for the purpose of construction, an industry that is already one of the most significant factors in climate change. Not only that, but plastic bricks would also solve another problem - affordable housing, especially in third world countries. Since there is no cost of material for a plastic brick, there is also an extremely low overall cost of production, which could bring quality housing to so many who need it. So this is why I started this project around a year ago, and a this summer of 2020, I've finally found a method of producing plastic bricks that is as strong as, if not stronger, then traditional building material. "Brick Alpha" is the first brick ever to made entirely of everyday waste plastic (specifically, HDPE layers), but reinforced by a concept I discovered while talking to a university professor (next page) - agricultural fibers, such as corn silks and banana fibers. These fibers are extremely strong, and when used to fuse with the melted layers of plastic, creates a virtually unbreakable brick. The brick is made through a combination of heating (the plastic must first be melted) and then compression using a hydraulic press. Right now, the bricks are made in an extremely small mold and so are only about half an inch thick (to be scaled up to the size of a regular brick in the coming months), but even in this small phase, the bricks are still as strong as traditional building materials. Scroll lower for pictures!