ByFusion, a Los Angeles-based startup has developed an innovative way of dealing with plastic trash. It turns it into useful and convenient construction blocks called “ByBlocks,” according to a report by CNN Business.
“You’d be astounded at the things that cannot be recycled, which is basically everything you touch … stuff like pens, toothbrushes,” ByFusion’s CEO, Heidi Kujawa, told CNN Business. “The interesting thing about our technology is we specifically, entirely designed our system around the low value, no value stuff, everything that can’t be recycled.”
She added that only two types of plastics can be recycled the rest goes to waste and cannot be rid of easily.
The company uses a machine called the Blocker System that changes the waste into building blocks in minutes through steam and compression. The greatest advantage is that the trash is not washed before use, as is the case in most recycling operations.
The Blockwer system takes the trash and breaks it into tiny pieces that can easily be merged together to make the blocks.
“We’ve modeled our ByBlocks around the dimensions of a hollow cement block. Each is a 16-inch by 8-inch by 8-inch unit,” said Kujawa.
The ByBlocks are vulnerable to sunlight. However, this can easily be solved by coating them in clear paint or pairing them with a mighty weather-resistant material.
Also, the processes for creating blocks are emissions-free.
“From the very beginning, we knew we wanted to be as carbon neutral as possible. So our block, our systems, and our manufacturing process is an all-electric, no emissions process today,” Kujawa said.
The company has an ambitious goal to recycle 100 million tons of plastic by 2030. To achieve this, 12 more Blockers are expected to be installed soon across the United States.
“Every community struggles with plastic waste,” Kujawa said. “Putting in a Blocker [System] is going to help reduce landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce transportation needs, all of that other good stuff.”