PLAEX Produces Building Blocks Made of Shredded Waste, Aims to be Cinderblock Alternative

Founder Dustin Bowers and his company, PLAEX, have developed a method to turn waste into sturdy and sustainable building blocks.

PLAEX’s process involved shredding difficult-to-recycle materials such as agricultural waste, marine and industrial plastics, and aggregate from the construction industry. These shredded bits are then mixed with concrete and molded into blocks. The ‘PLAEX-crete’ blocks are made up of more than 90 percent waste and are 33 percent lighter than cinder blocks, which can build walls in a fraction of the time.

While the cost of the PLAEX-crete blocks is comparable to traditional cinderblocks, the majority of cost savings come from the reduced labor time needed to work with the sustainably made blocks. The new blocks can only be used to build retaining walls currently, but PLAEX is putting the blocks through standards testing to earn CSA and ICC certification so they can be used in homebuilding.

Read the full article here.