First-in-State: House built using 1,500 kgs plastic at Mangaluru's Pachhanady

Mangaluru: A house built using plastics collected from garbage has been set up at Pachhanady here.

Built on a concrete foundation, the walls of the 350 square metres house is made from 1,500 kilograms of plastic, the first such experiment in the State.

The house was built for free by Plastic for Change India Foundation for Kamala, a retired municipal worker.

According to the Foundation’s project director, Chandan, the house was built using plastic collected from rag pickers at various locations, including the Pachhanady dumping yard. From January to August, 20 houses are to be built free of charge for homeless rag pickers. They are working with the government to provide them with sites for this.

“The cost of the house is about Rs 4 lakhs. Building several houses at once will be cost-effective. This is a great alternative for those living in tents and shanties. All kinds of research have been done on the durability, stability and quality of such houses. We are planning to provide solar lighting for such houses,” added Chandan.

To build the house, non-recyclable plastics were collected and sent to Gujarat. There the plastics were compressed, chemically-treated to remove any pungent smells and then made into panels of 8 millimetres and 20 millimetres. Then along with metal fabrications, the panels were used to build the house.

The houses provide better safety against wind, rain and fire, and has a durability of 30 years.

The house owner Kamala said: “It’s been 6 months since I retired from work. I have been living in Pachhanady for 15 years. In last year’s monsoon, my shanty was destroyed. The Foundation promised to build a home for me on that occasion. Two months later, they have built a good, sturdy and airy house.”