Group turns plastic waste into building material

Social enterprise: A worker cleaning discarded plastic bottles to be upcycled into building material at The Plaf’s factory in Muntinlupa, Philippines. — Reuters

A GROUP of recyclers in the Philippines is trying to ease the country’s worsening plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, single-use sachets and snack food wrappers that clog rivers and spoil beaches into building materials.

The Plastic Flamingo, or “The Plaf” as they are commonly known, collect the waste, shred it and then mould it into posts and planks called “eco-lumber” that can be used for fencing, decking or even to make disaster-relief shelters.