WASTE CEMENT& &RECYCLING CONCRETE
The concrete solution to plastic waste Plastic waste is a massive global problem, with only 9.5% of plastic being recycled. The other 90.5% is either incinerated, landfilled or ends up polluting our waterways and oceans. By Nombulelo Manyana
O
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. Additionally, 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 also
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rose 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. 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.
