JD Composites recently designed a noteworthy hurricane-proof house in Nova Scotia that helps to address two major issues: extreme weather and the abundance of single-use plastic water bottles circulating the planet. From the surface, the structure appears to be like just any other construction that's made of wood but it is actually made with recycled aluminum siding laser-printed with a cedar print, all of which was created from hundreds of thousands of recycled plastic bottles. According to JD Composites co-founder David Saulnier, "This is a way to get rid of plastic waste and at the same time develop structures that are sustainable."
As well as making the most of widely available material, the prototype house's recycled plastic panels help to provide more insulation to reduce heating and cooling costs.
What's Driving This Trend
- Hurricane-proof Construction
- Opportunity to innovate in creating structures that can withstand extreme weather conditions.
- Plastic Waste Management
- Opportunity to develop sustainable solutions for recycling and repurposing plastic waste materials like water bottles.
- Energy-efficient Building Materials
- Opportunity to explore the use of recycled plastic panels to provide better insulation and reduce heating/cooling costs in construction.
Who This Affects Most
- Construction
- Disruptive innovation opportunities in using recycled materials and designing hurricane-proof structures.
- Plastic Recycling
- Disruptive innovation opportunities in developing technology and processes to efficiently recycle and repurpose plastic waste materials.
- Green Building
- Disruptive innovation opportunities in creating energy-efficient and sustainable building materials for construction.
