In the 1940s, industry commentators predicted that plastics would surround our lives. For example, in 1942 the Australian Woman’s Mirror claimed:
“You will soon rise from your plastic bed, bathe in your plastic bath, use your plastic brush and comb, and breakfast from a plastic table while seated on a plastic chair. Later on you will pick up your plastic-mounted handbag and hop into your plastic-bodied car on your weekly shopping jaunt.”
While most of the predictions made by Woman’s Mirror and other commentators have come true the walls and roofs of our homes and offices have continued to be made from traditional materials. But this could be about to change with alternative materials being developed by the likes of Smile Plastics in the UK.
But Smile Plastics isn’t the only company making flat panels out of recycled plastics that can be used for a range of building applications and consumer products. In India, Ricron, a Gujarat-based company, recycles plastic, including multi-layer food packaging waste, to create durable, lightweight panels that can be used across a wide range of applications.
Ricron has developed an alternative to corrugated steel ideally suited as a roofing material as it is water and rust-proof, and resistant to fire, mould, and pests. These Eco-Roof sheets can be used as a substitute for cement, GI metal, or coated roofing sheets in domestic or commercial applications and are not affected bur using or cracking.
Ricron also produces flat panels which can be used to make furniture, partitions, kitchen cabinetry, as an alternative to tiles in bathrooms or for countertops in commercial fit-outs. By combining aluminium (from foil) with multi-layered plastic waste the company claims to have developed a cost-effective substitute for plywood and MDF across numerous applications. Compared with plywood Ricron’s sheets are claimed to be stronger and more resistant to fire, water, termites, and acid. In addition, these plastic-based sheets do not warp or splinter and have superior nail and screw-holding strength.
While the website might appear a bit outdated, the company has recently attracted finance and is planning to expand production.