Despite some small businesses making the push for reusable glass, plastic continues to dominate the “container” market. While small changes can be done on a personal level to reduce the amount of plastic used in our day to day lives, plastic is here to stay and it is not being reused or recycled to the best of its abilities. This really is not all that surprising due to the large amount of restrictions placed on recycling plastic, but we can definitely do better than a huge island of debris floating around the Pacific Ocean. Plastic waste can be recycled to form ideal construction material – strong, moldable and waterproof.
Right now, rubbers and mixed plastic waste are labelled as “unrecyclable” but they make up a huge (and growing) proportion of our plastic waste. These materials in particular align themselves well with current building materials in a way that would allow them to be reused in the construction market. Mixed in with virgin plastics, rubber and mixed plastic can be used to form roofing tiles, lego-like building blocks, and even carpeting. While these methods of melting down plastics for construction materials are not yet mainstream, political actions may soon be taken to aid in this recycling process due to the intense interest from the public to better our environmental practices.
Material Transformations 
Anyone who routinely recycles is familiar with the process of checking for the number of plastic on the bottom of carton, which categorizes the plastic based off of what it’s made of. Subsequently, anyone who recycles also knows the dismay of finding out their plastic is not recyclable. If only there was a way for these “unrecyclable” plastics to be recycled.
The construction industry has been a happy recipient of these plastics, as the construction industry accounts for 16 percent of the global consumption of plastics. While finding new ways to implement recycled plastic into architecture is innovative, it is only a stop-gap to the real problem. At the heart of the plastic debate is the inherent dependence on plastic. As Istanbul Design Biennial curator Jan Boelen stated, “recycling relieves our guilt”. As consumers, we are so dependent on plastics that we are forced to find ways to recycle them. Just as the plastic industry is quite profitable, the recycled plastic industry is increasingly becoming profitable. Couldn’t recycled plastic have the same fate as virgin plastic? The economy of recycled plastics is inextricably linked to the plastic economy, and as the economy of recycled plastics grows, so does the plastic economy.
As a result, recycling plastic doesn’t change the fundamental problem we are facing, it doesn’t reduce our dependence on plastics. Ultimately, what is the diminishing return on recycling plastic? At what point do we undergo a systemic change involving the materials we use. We just need to become aware.
Sources:
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/09/27/the-rising-use-of-recycled-plastic-in-design-is-bullshit-says-jan-boelen/
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/fresh-perspectives/a483-unconventional-use-of-plastic-in-architecture-construction/
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