Among the many attractions at the International Building Expo is a 600-square ft house built by local company South Atlantic and its Colombian partner Cana Dulce. The house, which features two bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom area, looks much like any normal house, except that it is made entirely made out of recycled plastic, except for the roof and doors.
The structure, which captured the eyes of many visitors from day one, has a brick like finish that can be customised to suit one’s desire at little or no cost. It is also fire proof.
“It’s modern technology. What we do, for example, the bottle caps, we take it, we wash it, we grind it down, we melt it and we add some additives into it that will be fireproof so it wouldn’t catch on fire. It might melt a little bit but it wouldn’t burn. Its plastic and its heat, even steel bends and we put it into moulds and the moulds are what produces the stone, the brick effect,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of South Atlantic Alfonso De Armas told Stabroek News during a recent interview.
He said a 600 square-ft house can be built in less than two weeks at the cost of $5.7 million.
De Armas said the only difference in the process is that plastic is being used as the building material instead of sand. “It’s sturdy, it doesn’t feels like plastic. It actually looks like a cement block. It’s stronger than a cement block. It’s definitely not a garbage house. It’s put through an industrial process just as how cement is put through an industrial process,” he said.
“It doesn’t smell, it doesn’t release any toxic fumes… It is made from materials we use every day,” De Armas noted.
Each structure has an estimated life expectancy of over 100 years. “It’s really a lot stronger but at the same time it’s a lot lighter,” De Armas told Stabroek News.
It is fire proof and does not attracts termites. “So you don’t have to worry about wood ants,” he added.
Expansion and change of design, De Armas said, can be done at any time at little or no cost. “Repairs—you probably don’t have to worry about repairs but if you do it’s just a matter of swapping out a block and putting another in,” he said while adding “if you want to expand or change your design you can do that. You can just add on another part to the house at little to no cost”.
Houses built by South Atlantic can also be painted. “You can really do any finish that you want,” the CEO said.
Currently, South Atlantic will be importing plastic for its project. However, De Armas said plans are in the pipeline to establish its own facility here.
