A survey of recycled plastic waste as an alternative building material
(2019) ABAL01 20191Department of Architecture and Built Environment
- Abstract
- This study charts the possibilities of recycled plastic and its use as an alternative building material for low-income housing in Colombia. The building materials in the study have been compared with respect to their physical properties, the cost and how they affect the indoor climate in each building.
Colombia is a country that has been subjected to civil war for many years, which has contributed to urbanization, increased poverty and reduced infrastructure. The presence of informal housing is therefore great, and most houses are insufficiently designed to withstand earthquakes which is a common phenomenon in South America. About 3.8 million households in Colombia do not have adequate housing, most of which are located in slums and... (More) - This study charts the possibilities of recycled plastic and its use as an alternative building material for low-income housing in Colombia. The building materials in the study have been compared with respect to their physical properties, the cost and how they affect the indoor climate in each building.
Colombia is a country that has been subjected to civil war for many years, which has contributed to urbanization, increased poverty and reduced infrastructure. The presence of informal housing is therefore great, and most houses are insufficiently designed to withstand earthquakes which is a common phenomenon in South America. About 3.8 million households in Colombia do not have adequate housing, most of which are located in slums and about 5% of the population are homeless.
According to the Global Alliance of Buildings and Construction, the construction sector accounted for 36% of global energy use and nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, thus the largest share of energy use and emissions, even though building-related transport to construction sites was ignored. Due to the large energy use, substitutes need to be developed to reduce the climate impact and increase the re-use of already manufactured products that have been created from raw materials.
Different kinds of plastic have different life cycles that lead to difficulties when they are collected. This leads to an uneven proportion between the production and the collection of waste. Plastic waste is a serious problem worldwide, it creates landfills and ends up in the natural environment. The sea is a notorious destination for the accumulation of plastic debris. The Pacific Ocean even has a great spot of it, which has a negative impact on hundreds of species of marine life. The properties of the plastic can be taken advantage of to create something sustainable that generates housing for vulnerable people with limited resources and who also contributes to a more sustainable constructive system since plastic waste is removed from the environment. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8985882
- author
- Wadsö, Olof LU and Svenmyr, Eric LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ABAL01 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- adequate housing, indoor climate, plastic waste, seismic behaviour, material properties, developing countries, Colombia
- language
- English
- id
- 8985882
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-19 12:43:50
- date last changed
- 2019-06-19 12:43:50
@misc{8985882,
abstract = {{This study charts the possibilities of recycled plastic and its use as an alternative building material for low-income housing in Colombia. The building materials in the study have been compared with respect to their physical properties, the cost and how they affect the indoor climate in each building.
Colombia is a country that has been subjected to civil war for many years, which has contributed to urbanization, increased poverty and reduced infrastructure. The presence of informal housing is therefore great, and most houses are insufficiently designed to withstand earthquakes which is a common phenomenon in South America. About 3.8 million households in Colombia do not have adequate housing, most of which are located in slums and about 5% of the population are homeless.
According to the Global Alliance of Buildings and Construction, the construction sector accounted for 36% of global energy use and nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, thus the largest share of energy use and emissions, even though building-related transport to construction sites was ignored. Due to the large energy use, substitutes need to be developed to reduce the climate impact and increase the re-use of already manufactured products that have been created from raw materials.
Different kinds of plastic have different life cycles that lead to difficulties when they are collected. This leads to an uneven proportion between the production and the collection of waste. Plastic waste is a serious problem worldwide, it creates landfills and ends up in the natural environment. The sea is a notorious destination for the accumulation of plastic debris. The Pacific Ocean even has a great spot of it, which has a negative impact on hundreds of species of marine life. The properties of the plastic can be taken advantage of to create something sustainable that generates housing for vulnerable people with limited resources and who also contributes to a more sustainable constructive system since plastic waste is removed from the environment.}},
author = {{Wadsö, Olof and Svenmyr, Eric}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A survey of recycled plastic waste as an alternative building material}},
year = {{2019}},
}