Broken brick, ash and old plastic bottles are a wonderful basis for new materials that are strong, resistant and inexpensive.


This has been shown by Russian technologists and experts of the International Science and Technology Centre, who have placed information on this project on the ISTC website (PRA 0636). Scientists from the Moscow State Institute of Alloys and Steels have shown that strong and durable roofs, pipes, road coverings and, finally, cheap and effective insulating material, can all be made practically from rubbish; old soft drinks bottles, disposable cups, broken bricks and ash. They succeeded in resolving the problem of utilization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is almost everlasting as waste.

The solution proposed by the Russian scientists enables the utilization of PET and the obtaining of new, unique composite materials. First of all secondary PET and filler materials have to be ground. Incidentally, it is precisely the properties of the filler that to a great extent determine the properties of the future composite material. If, for example, we take broken bricks, we get an excellent roof tile, with a pleasant terracotta colour. If it’s wood shavings, we get a material like particle board, only one that is not a health hazard: instead of phenol resin the shavings are bonded into a monolithic structure by polyethylene. And if ash from a heat and power plant is used as filler, we get insulating materials. Sand, broken glass and marble crumb can also be used. Then the initial product should be well mixed and heated carefully. Finally the ready products are press formed from the molten mass and, as a result we get products with a set composition and with set properties.