R - B R I K
Millions of tonnes of plastics enter the ocean every year, with tremendous environmental, economic, and social costs that are difficult to quantify. However, the marine plastics pollution problem cannot be solved just by cleaning up the ocean. Most marine plastics are not discarded directly into the sea but derive from land-based sources. Malaysia is capable of recycling 3 out of 7 categories of plastic which is type 1,2 and 5, but the local recycling industry only concentrates its resources on plastics that is easily retrievable and holds high value such as PET mineral water bottles.
R–BRIK is mainly focused on recycling the plastics that are found near ocean and use it in bricks because when we compare plastic to other materials that used in large quantities such as paper, ceramics, glass and aluminium, plastics are less recycled. Clay bricks are a kind of crystalline ceramic that are used since early civilization and also common construction material that found all over the world. Recently eco-brick was famous in some countries where bottle that are filled with mixed inorganic waste are used as low-cost plastic brick to build some chair, walkway and etc. But since it is still plastic at outside, it not safe to use under construction base. Constructions, demolitions, renovations, and reconstructions of different structures generate wastes known as Construction Demolition Waste (CDW). Materials that commonly are included as CDW are concrete, asphalt, wood, metal, paper, and plastic. The construction industry serves as a backbone of every nation and a major contributor to its economy. So, by recycling demolition wastes, the need for virgin materials and areas for landfills will decrease which can lead to positive economic and environmental effects.
R-BRIK is an idea where demolition waste and plastic wastes are mixed with waste plasterboard and also glass powder as cement substituent by mass with a fixed rate of 15% to create a fully recycled brick. There are some studies says that glass powder could play an important role in the decrease of porosity of the mixtures and the improvement of the indicators of sustainability such as the compression resistance and the permeability. Since it is made of waste, it doesn’t require high temperature to fire it and mixed plastics should be prioritized for recycling since less energy is required for the process of recycling mixed plastics compared to production of virgin plastics. Furthermore, less emissions are emitted in the process of recycling mixed plastics compared to the process of producing virgin plastics. Furthermore, biogas can be used during firing to reduce the usage of fossil fuel. So, by removing all those things and using fully recycled materials is going to make this R-Brik as sustainable material.
About Us
Focusing on 5Rs - RETHINK, REDUCE, REUSE, REPAIR, RECYCLE
