Located behind Ponderosa Pine on a hill off Herold Ranch Road, the building is in many ways similar to other homes under construction.
But I would say that the multicolored blocks that make up the walls that have not yet been covered are not. They’re plastic, made of everything from plastic bags to disposable cups and straws, all compressed into what could be mistaken for standard cement blocks.
The home, built by former County Superintendent Art Babot, who lives in Flagstaff, is the first of its kind. The house is made of BiBlock, a product of Los Angeles-based BiFusion.
“It’s all about beauty. No expensive plastic here, just flossers and straws and just junk,” Babot said, gesturing to one of the blocks. “The coolest thing is that this green stuff is from a fishing net caught on a large garbage island in the Pacific.”
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In fact, some blocks still had the Nutrition Facts lettering on the plastic food packaging clearly visible.
Babot is building a one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 600-square-foot home as part of a 2019 county program aimed at fostering architectural innovation throughout northern Arizona.
The walls of Babott’s house look good in a trendy brewery today, but by the time construction is complete, the house will be little different.
Babot believes this is an exciting development for the community, which recently faced the abrupt closure of Flagstaff’s recycling center earlier this year.
The city is now shipping recyclables to the Phoenix facility.
But Babot hopes his home can demonstrate optimistic potential for the future of local recycling.
And that sentiment echoed that of ByFusion CEO Heidi Kujawa.
“Every community we speak to suffers from the same challenges: this plastic problem is pervasive and we are not going to change it overnight,” Kudjawa said. “So in the meantime, we have to do something to stop the bleeding and, more importantly, clean up the devastation we’ve left behind.”
For ByFusion, she said, the plastic waste challenge that spans so many communities is a real opportunity to create solutions at the local level.
And Kujawa said he hopes for their company and its manufacturing. Vibrox in Tucsonand potentially other communities, can enhance their existing recycling programs.
“Our real mission is to keep the blue bins tidy, so that the recycling center will have less sorting work and the process will be more efficient,” Kujawa said. “The best way to think about this is that if we’re doing a blue bin program in our community today, if we put a bottle of water in there, everything else becomes part of our process. , can be kept out of landfills.”
In fact, ByFusion already has a presence in Arizona. The company plans to work with the city of Tucson to not only collect plastic from the area, but also open a facility in Tucson to produce the blocks.
The company worked with Tucson on a pilot project last year. Kujawa said he had collected 110 tons of plastic to process into blocks through the Tucson pilot project, more than double his goal.
But Babot’s house represents another step forward in recycled plastic products.
Kujawa said the block had never been used as a residential structure until Babot began construction. Instead, it was used to build parks and public infrastructure in places like Los Angeles and Boise, Idaho.
“Mr. Babot picked it up and was one of the first to do this,” she said. “I’m really excited about the results. This is a really nice demonstration of what you can do with this material.”
The company and the city of Tucson also plan to use the block to expand a women’s shelter and several other buildings in the city, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
The company’s collaboration with the city could help the city of Tucson reach its sustainability and climate goals of diverting 50% of its waste from landfills by 2030 and achieving zero waste by 2050. reported the Daily Star.
Kujawa said the blocks can be made from a type of plastic that is often unrecyclable, and the simpler method of making the blocks makes them far less polluting than traditional recycling.
The blocks are made using only steam and compression, she said.
“All we need is plastic waste. We don’t add any additives, chemicals, glues, mortars or adhesives in this process,” Kujawa said. “But it’s a very simple process. I often say this: You eat lunch, you throw [the package] Put it on the conveyor, put it in the machine, make a block, and stick the block into the wall. “
For Babot, who says he’s always been fascinated by alternative and sustainable building methods, the effort means creating new markets to help solve popular solutions.
About two tons of plastic went into the blocks that made up some of Babot’s walls. He said it took him and two others about two days to assemble the structure.
Kujawa said the ease of construction is one of the reasons the blocks are cheaper to build than traditional materials and save time on the construction site. Otherwise, the blocks cost about the same as concrete or concrete blocks of the same size, she said.
And properties such as longevity, which are notorious for plastic’s environmental impact, can be a real advantage when used as a building material, Kujawa added.
