Recycling doesn’t always mean chemically separating things into component parts, or finding a new life for an old object. An LA-based startup is proving that landfills need not be dug for plastics, if one can merely smash enough of them together into a Minecraft-like block.
103 tons of nonrecyclable plastics, in fact, have been diverted from entombment since the company was founded, all through ByFusion’s patented machines known as “Blockers.” Blockers have a simple yet ingenious design. They shred the plastic, and then apply mass multiplied by acceleration repeatedly, until the “nonrecyclable plastic” is so squished together that it fuses.
Composite plastics have advanced the world standard of living no end, but often they tend to be unrecyclable.
Many minds are trying to develop thermal or chemical methods of separating the polymers in these materials to allow them to be recycled. ByFusion have avoided this problem by cutting out that middleman and simply turning the material as is into a new, composite, and ridiculously durable construction block.
Called “ByBlocks,” they are a simple 16x8x8 shape and can be used to build bus stops, fences, retaining walls, curtain walls, public terraces, and more.
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ByFusion’s full-service operation in LA can process 450 tons of plastic per year into blocks, and hope to install 12 more Blockers soon.
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They have partnered with cities across the country, from the island of Kauai, to Boise in Idaho, to get as many blockers into the hands of people who want to use them.
A big advantage of the Blockers is their indiscrimination; they turn every kind of plastic, even fishing nets, into blocks of the same material properties. The only thing they can’t tackle is polystyrene or Styrofoam.
Not one ounce of adhesive glue, mortar, or any kind of extra substance is used. If 22 pounds of plastic go in, a 22 pound block comes out.
The machines come in two sizes, one for industry, and another for community. The latter comes in a shipping container, while the former features an array of blockers for companies that really crank out the plastic waste.
Watch a durability comparison between the ByBlocks and classic, hollow cement blocks, and see the difference.
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TOTALLY TOTALLY AWESOME!!!! KISS principle wins again! These would/should have some really good properties such as weight, insulation, indestructible, easily reparable, and should be cheap. So, when’s Menards & Home Depot going to start offering these?
Don’t forget flammable.