House Made From 612,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles Is Also Hurricane Proof
John Vibes, Truth Theory
Waking Times
A Canadian company called JD Composites has built a home that is resistant to hurricane-strength winds. It is said that the house can withstand winds with gusts of over 300 miles per hour. A working prototype of the building is located near the Meteghan River in Nova Scotia.
The house looks surprisingly normal, but its structure is far different than any other building in the neighborhood. Much of the interior of the house is made from lumber and drywall, just like most other houses on the market, but there is a strong reinforced structure that surrounds the house, making it far more durable.
The reinforced structure consists of 5.9-inch thick panels, which were made from roughly 612,000 plastic bottles. To create the structure, the recycled bottles were shredded, melted and then injected with a gas to create a plastic foam that is much more resilient than traditional building materials.
The plastic foam works much better as an insulator, and it is also resistant to mildew, moisture, and mold. The material is also extremely easy to put together and could significantly reduce construction time. JD Composites says that one of these houses can be built in just days, instead of the several months that a traditional project would take.
Photo: JD Composites
The company sent away samples of the building materials to a lab where they tested for durability in extreme winds. Incredibly, the plastic panels were able to withstand the force of a category 5 hurricane, with winds of up to 326 miles per hour. This is an incredible accomplishment, considering that hurricanes with winds of just 200 miles per hour are known to cause massive damage to structures.
JD Composites estimates that the house costs nearly $400,000 to build, which sounds expensive, but is actually comparable to other new homes of the same size.
There are no immediate plans to build more of these houses, but the original model is up for sale. If the property is not sold, the company says that they will list the location on Airbnb to generate some publicity.
About the Author
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast.Read More stories by John Vibes Follow on Twitter
**This article (House Made From 612,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles Is Also Hurricane-Proof) was originally published at Truth Theory and is re-posted here with permission.**