Bondor to recycle plastics into prefabricated building components

The Bondor Metecno Group and its partners will use a $2.7 million Cooperative Research Centre Projects grant to transform plastic waste into lightweight prefabricated building products.

The leading manufacturer of insulated wall, ceiling and roof panels will work with Pipemakers Australia , M Modular Pty Ltd and the University of Melbourne to boost the local recycling of plastic waste.

The total project will cost $8.76 million and run until mid-2023.

Bondor Executive General Manager Geoff Marsdon said the project will have a substantial impact on the environment by reducing the volume of plastic waste lost to landfill.

Marsdon said: “The building and construction sector in Australia consumes around 700,000 tonnes of plastics each year, which is 20 per cent of Australia’s plastic consumption.

“Less than 12 per cent is recycled and more than 40 per cent is disposed of in landfill.

“We can address this problem by recycling this plastic waste into lightweight prefabricated building products (LPBP).”

The partners plan to develop an automated manufacturing and recycling process based on Industry 4.0 principles, and advanced chemical and materials handling processes.

“Not only will the developed processes reduce the amount of plastic waste going to landfill, they will also significantly reduce production costs for LPBP while enhancing the quality of the products.”

The project will include

• Replacement of original plastic materials with recycled plastics.

• Development of a model for the simulation of buildings and their key components made with LPBPs under various loading conditions.

• Advanced manufacturing techniques from Industry 4.0 automated manufacturing processes will be incorporated and will include in line monitoring using non-destructive testing equipment to minimise defects.

Picture: Bondor

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