Dustin Bowers is scouring the farms of the Atlantic Provinces for recyclable plastic waste to reuse in a line of interlocking plastic bricks and wall panels.
The 33-year-old, who has spent close to three years developing the Lego-like bricks for buildings, says when they are ready for market they will be an easy to install system that can save builders time and money “and still be environmentally responsible.”
Comprised of 90 per cent recycled materials (primarily agricultural plastic waste), the large bricks will weigh 25-30 pounds each — about 20 per cent less than similar-sized concrete blocks. The only virgin additives are inhibitors and stabilizers, says Bowers, CEO and founder of PLAEX Building Systems, based in Hampstead, N.B.
“We’re making a composite material akin to concrete,” he points out. So far, the product has performed well in tests in a certified-materials testing lab tied to the University of New Brunswick. “It has some limitations but for a wide-range of applications (including residential) it is going to be a game-changer,” says Bowers, whose start-up company was formed in 2020.
Read more at canada.constructconnect.com
