Growing awareness of PET environmental consequences is encouraging people to take action. Mexico’s Carlos González, CEO of EcoDom, is an example. His company, based in Xicotepec de Juárez, Puebla, turns plastic waste into construction materials to build affordable housing for low-income families. “Our goal is to deeply clean Mexico, and the world, of plastic by taking advantage of its properties’ potential for construction – it doesn’t biodegrade, get damp or moth-eaten,” the entrepreneur explains. The company recycles mainly PET, but also high-density Polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), usually found in broken buckets, toys or bags. To create a wall, the company transforms around six kilograms of plastics. The whole process costs from 50 to 60 Mexican pesos, or nearly three dollars. EcoDom generates revenue from selling plastic-derived construction materials such as containing walls, earthenware, mezzanines and thermic roofs; but also from building houses and selling properties to low-income families. Credit: WASTE ED
