Plastech homes is a house built using plastic bottles and related material in addressing the housing deficit in urban areas.The housing deficit in Kenya stands at 2 million and continues to grow at a rate of about 200,000 units a year as annual production remains at a paltry 50,000 units, way below the targeted provision of 250,000 units. There is a proliferation of informal settlements in urban areas with 61% of the urban population living in slums in overcrowded homes typically with only one room and no adequate ventilation.
Plastics are produced from the oil that is considered as non-renewable resource. Because plastic has the insolubility about 300 years in the nature, it is considered as a sustainable waste and environmental pollutant. So reusing or recycling of it can be effectual in mitigation of environmental impacts relating to it. It has been proven that the use of plastic bottles as innovative materials for building can be a proper solution for replacement of conventional materials. Plastic have many good building characteristics which include versatility, light-ness, hardness, and resistant to chemicals, water and impact. It makes up much of the street side litter in urban areas. Plastic bottles make up approximately 11% of the content landfills, causing serious environmental consequences.
Kenya based Plastech homes intends to reuse plastic bottles in construction of cheap, strong and durable homes which is a more efficient solution than recycling. This reuse applied to building projects can now be treated as a building block material similar to bricks for small scale construction and to keep them rid from being thrown into landfills and water bodies. They are cheap and readily available economic building material. Benefits of this technology is small and easy to implement given that the source of building material is local and no additional cost is applicable.
Using plastech homes technology also has other advantages to the environment and society at large by reducing the total waste generated, reducing the carbon footprint and preserving the natural resources. The local community can also be involved in such projects as they can help in collecting plastic bottles and the waste materials from the project site. This togetherness will help in developing a sustainable building culture from the recycled materials. The end users have a much greater sense of ownership in the project, as they have greater involvement in the material sourcing or in the building process.
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