African project
Village of Hope – South Africa
“Until a few years ago, only clear, colourless or white polystyrene was considered to have
recycling value. As a result, waste management and recycling companies preferred to only
collect and recycle unpigmented containers, while the coloured and black material offered the
same excellent insulation qualities and was readily available, but had not viable end-market,”
Adri Spangenberg of the Polystyrene Packaging Council explains.
Thanks to Snyman and his team, however, a new globally patented mixture was developed
containing all grades and colours of recycled polystyrene, combined with 9 different chemicals
and cement.
The PSPC plays a facilitation role between end-users of recycled polystyrene and waste
management companies to ensure a continued supply of material that will keep up with the
demand. Each week large quantities of polystyrene are delivered to the site for recycling,
primarily by growers, nurseries and plant centres located in Brits and surrounding areas, and
as far afield as Pretoria, who use expanded polystyrene for their seedling trays. “We recycle
720kg of polystyrene to build a 68m2 house. Last year alone we recycled and diverted more
than 613 tons of polystyrene away from landfill through our building method. Not only does
our solid wall system greatly reduce the use of cement and concrete, but it also reduces the
overall cost of building by up to 40 %,” Hennie says.
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