A Startup Is Turning Trash Into Construction Materials

A startup called ByFusion wants to take the world's trash and put it to good use. Waste Dive reports that the New York-based company has developed a method to transform plastic waste into construction materials they call RePlast blocks.

The building blocks mimic the look and shape of cinder blocks, but they’re made entirely of compressed plastics. ByFusion claims that, though they can’t bear as much weight as traditional cinder blocks, RePlast blocks can be used for road projects or to fill in building frames.

As the narrator states in the video above: “Plastic is killing our planet, but we have a solution: ByFusion has a patented process that can convert this wasted plastic into 100 percent recycled and multi-purpose new material, turning this environmental disaster into an incredible opportunity. The ByFusion machine is completely self-contained and mobile. It can be placed on a flatbed truck or a ship and transported anywhere that plastic is.”

ByFusion has already announced plans to team up with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii to convert the plastic waste that washes up on the islands’s beaches into RePlast blocks that will be used to help the Hawaiian Islands. They’re currently raising money for the Hawaii cleanup project on IndieGogo.

“We realized that in order to start making a difference for our planet or environment, we needed to act now,” ByFusion CEO Gregor Gomory said in a statement.  “Every year millions of tons of plastic ends up in the ocean. We have the technology to process it in an environmentally-sensitive way and put it to use in local communities.”

[h/t Waste Dive]

Banner image credit: ByFusion PBC, Vimeo

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.