Hollins Digital Commons

Carbon Emissions and Cost of Standard Housing versus Housing Built with Repurposed Plastic Bottles

Ballator Gallery

Today, the cost of housing is increasing, making it less affordable for people with low incomes. Building houses uses a lot of energy and resources. Much of that energy comes from fossil fuels. As a result, the housing sector leaves a massive carbon footprint. Recycling these plastic bottles is quite expensive and uses a lot of fossil fuel energy. By replacing expensive resources that have a large carbon footprint with plastic bottles, which are non-biodegradable, we can lower the environmental impact of the housing sector. For our research, we are analyzing the carbon emissions of building standard houses and houses built with repurposed plastic bottles. This project focuses on the economic and environmental impacts of building houses from plastic bottles. Construction using plastic bottles has been put into practice in some developing countries. Understanding more about this process and the impact of these houses could contribute to economic and ecological progress.