Photo by stevendepolo
DCL
Many types of plastics we see every day, from bottles to food containers, can be recycled, but most often not back into food-grade containers. So what can be done with them? Well, plenty! Taiwan is using it's mountains of plastic trash to form everything from building bricks for exhibition halls to wigs, from flower pots to blankets for disaster relief efforts. It turns out that if a company figures out the right end-product, they can make a mint off trash.
According to PhysOrg, "Last year, nearly 180,000 tonnes of used plastic were collected and turned into raw materials worth 4.5 billion Taiwan dollars ($140 million US), which cut down garbage disposal costs and carbon dioxide emissions." The Tzu Shi Foundation is a non-profit that runs 4,500 recycling stations, which collected 12,000 tons of plastic bottles last year.
The concept of plastic-to-clothing even made its way to the World Cup, with Taiwan turning "eco-fabric" into uniforms for nine of the football teams -- each jersey comprised of eight plastic bottles transformed into polyester.
The country isn't stopping with the World Cup either -- it has also built an impressive "Eco Ark", a three-story exhibition hall built from 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles turned into bricks that can withstand the elements and save electricity by allowing natural light into the building. Turning plastic bottles into building materials is a smart idea, yet still surprisingly slow to catch on. But perhaps this new building in Taiwan will get more people interested in the potential of used plastics.
