Project by Dennis Andersson, a student from the programme Architecture and Extreme Environments, Institute of Architecture and Technology.
Plastic pollution is becoming a bigger and more severe issue in Tanzania. Small plastic bags are layered in the ground and get into waterways and sewers. In this work, I have tested ways to reuse this plastic waste as different kinds of building materials, such as roof panels and windows.
The project investigates what kind of plastics can be found around Tanzania and what techniques can be used to melt and press the plastic items.
I tested and recorded the application of building materials made from reused plastic in order to assess their performance.
My prototype is a “Traveling material lab”, which is used to gather and catalogue plastic waste and to make material samples by pressing plastic waste with applied heat.
I tested a variety of material presses which produce different types of plastic samples out of plastic waste, and some different heating methods for the process.
