The Plastenco Story - Part III.

Plastenco does not create waste, it consumes it.

I wanted PET bottles to be used to build houses. I really tried it and made my poor students try it too. In my book The PET Bottle Architecture Phenomenon, I collected examples of buildings from all over the world. Yes, it can be done. But honestly, building houses out of PET bottles is the music of the past, a matter of fine art and the architecture of less technically advanced cultures. Today, our civilization can process these bottles. Their life is mostly short: only 2 months on average. Then, by recycling them into plastic fibre, they become everyday objects: carpets and car mats, cordage and non-woven fabrics, sleeping bags, sweatshirts, jackets, nappies. The material is reworked and its original form is not found in man-made fibre products.

Some time ago, PETMAT, a registered institute for practical experiments in waste processing, managed to melt down cut PET bottles. He bought a 3D printer, a machine that can make new things out of filament. But PETMAT was not technologically up to the task, so he approached 2 partners in the profession. One recycled PET bottles and the other could wind extruded plastic filament for 3D printers. And PETMAT knew how to nudge things forward. In a few months, already precious discarded PETs were turned into filament that 3D printers could process. Architects and designers could start contributing to solving the world’s plastic disaster. They had the material for their models.

The blog is already long, but don’t worry, Plastencois finally here . It was born when the Star shone in PETMAT’s sky. PET, that beautiful, light and shiny stuff, can be transformed into objects whose origins no one need be ashamed of. Their molecules have already had one life where they have fulfilled their purpose and can now live only for the beauty of their owners. Often they have a second task and can have almost infinite numbers, but this does not detract from the beauty of their bodies. On the contrary, they are proud of their origins. And their owners? Well, try it for yourself!

Author. arch. Kateřina Nováková, PhD.