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| Photo courtesy of MINIWIZ. |
POLLI-Bricks are a "100% recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Polymer" building material manufactured by MINIWIZ. MINIWIZ hosts a pamphlet
on their website that tells all about POLLI-Bricks. Key features of MINIWIZ's
POLLI-Brick are that it is "made from recycled materials, reusable and
recyclable, non-toxic, low-VOC (volatile organic compounds)," and it is
made on site.
Why POLLI-Bricks
- Traditional building materials have too big a carbon footprint. According to MINIWIZ, "constructing and operating buildings account for forty percent of the global carbon footprint" and the "manufacturing and building processes generate just as much carbon." By making POLLI-Bricks on site, carbon resulting from transportation is eliminated.
- POLLI-Bricks turn all those disposable drink bottles into something useful.
- MINIWIZ's POLLI-Bricks are versatile and customizable: they "can be tailored to either a simple modular, quick to install, affordable cladding system or a state-of- the-art interactive color LED integrated animated building skin system."
- Using MINIWIZ's POLLI-Bricks has several advantages
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| Photo courtesy of MINIWIZ |
- "Super Strong:" Can "sustain radical lateral force up to Category 5 hurricanes, without any damage or
water seepage"
- "Ultra-Light:" Takes less energy to move and build with
- "Air-Insulated": Takes less energy to heat and cool a POLLI-Brick structure.
- "Translucency:" Lets a ton of natural light in
- "Simple Installation:" Building is easy
- "Optional LED+ IT Integration:" Can be jazzed up with a fancy light system
How it works
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| Photo courtesy of MINIWIZ. |
MINIWIZ turns recycled plastics into POLLI-Bricks. The finished POLLI-Bricks are stacked into whatever design and dimension is desired. Films are applied to turn the stack into a strong, resilient module. Multiple modules are then used to build a structure.
About MINIWIZ
MINIWIZ is an innovative company focused on
sustainability. Not only are their products and designs meant to be
environmentally friendly; but, they are created from recycled waste
product. Read all about MINIWIZ in their site's
About section.
Critique
MINIWIZ promotes their product through fact. They have three separate certifications for the POLLI-Brick: ASTM E-330/331 from the American Society for Testing and Materials International, AAMA 501.4 from the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, and UL Certification E 98658 from the Underwriters Laboratories. The pamphlet feels like a strong and reliable source of information. All it is missing is citations from a Harvard study on POLLI-Bricks that is mentioned on
MINIWIZ's main site; but, it is possible that such information is not freely available.
That's so cool, I want a house like that!
ReplyDeleteOddly pretty, isn't it. Stick around and you just might see a future post about how you can integrate a bottle wall into your home both functionally and as decor!
DeleteDo you have any info on what the cost of this is versus traditional materials?
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to find any information on MINIWIZ's site about this. According to http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/08/23/co2-grabbing-foam-recycled-bottle-buildings-vie-earth-awards "Polli-Bricks cost $27 per square foot." As for how the price of polli-bricks compares to traditional materials, it would probably be best for you to compare it to construction costs where you live. I think building costs vary too much by area for me to give you an accurate comparison. It's even more complicated to compare when you throw potential energy savings into the mix.
DeleteI'm not up on building material costs either but I'd bet traditional bricks cost a lot less than $27 per square foot. That's the big rub on so many green tech things....they're too cost prohibitive. Outside of a few wealthy individuals willing to spend the extra money on it because they believe in trying to be environmentally responsible the only thing getting any of these projects going at all are taxpayer subsidies....take away the subsidy and the industry collapses such as manufacturers of wind power turbines laying off workers and even closing entire plants.
DeleteIt's hard to make green things industry standard because of the points you bring up. I think the upfront costs are the biggest issue that turn people off of building sustainably. Saving on bills is a good bonus; but, a larger upfront cost turns a lot of people off of adopting sustainable solutions into their lives. Green tends not to be the cheapest, especially in the short term. Unfortunately, not being green will have devastating consequences in the future. Is the savings now worth the true cost later?
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