Renewable Revolution

• Canadian builders have built a home out of more than 600,000 plastic water bottles.
• The builders broke down bottles and turned into foam that hardens when cooled. This foam was used to create the walls.
• The home is the first of its kind to ever be built.

Canadian builders have created a new way to turn plastic waste into environmentally friendly housing. JD Composites, a construction company led by Joel German and David Saulnier, built a three-bedroom home along the Meteghan River in Nova Scotia from more than 600,000 plastic water bottles—but you'd never guess it from just looking at the home.

JD COMPOSITES

German and Saulnier shredded and heated the water bottles to form plastic pellets and placed them into a hopper, where they were treated with gases that melted them into a foam. When cooled, the foam becomes solid and is rot- and mildew-resistant. The builders then used the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) panels to create the 5.9-inch-thick walls of the green home.

Besides the fact that the panels utilize plastic that might've otherwise ended up in a landfill or the ocean, they're able to withstand tough weather conditions, too.

German and Saulnier sent a sample panel for endurance testing to Mississauga, Ontario and discovered it could stand firm against against 326-mph winds—two times as strong as a category 5 hurricane. The results are especially impressive considering the panels are lightweight and the wind tunnel reached its max force without being able to cause damage to the test panel.

The hardened foam is covered by a fiberglass skin along both the interior and exterior of the home, and UV paint was used to protect the material from sunlight.

The company plans to list the home for sale, but will rent it on Airbnb if it can't find a buyer.

“If it doesn’t sell, it’s fine,” German told the Hants Journal. “It’s our first one. We’re sort of attached to it.”