Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA
A unique combination of rapid population growth, urbanization and a shortage of available real estate has produced an acute housing crisis in the Philippines, whose population of nearly 110 million faces a shortage of approximately 6.5 million homes, projected to rise to 22 million by 2040.
Following a national stakeholder meeting organized through the ongoing IAEA project in 2023, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. formed a partnership in July 2023 that aims to address both the country’s housing crisis and its plastic waste problem.
Construction materials made from recycled plastic—including tiles, bricks, lumber and boards—are being provided by Envirotech for irradiation by PNRI experts to improve their tensile and sheer strength, abrasion resistance and other mechanical properties.
These efforts correspond closely to the objectives of the Philippines’ Post-radiation Reactive Extrusion of Plastic Wastes (PREx Plastic) Project, a national development plan supported by the NUTEC Plastics initiative that aims to use radiation to enhance the thermomechanical strength of materials produced from plastic wastes, which would enable more uses for recycled plastics.
The collaboration between PNRI and Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. uses the company’s facility for upscaling experiments. “This enables the investigation and translation of lab-scale findings to real manufacturing setups,” said Jordan Madrid, Head of PNRI’s Chemistry Research Section.
“Through industry collaboration, the objectives of applied research are more precisely targeted, thereby enhancing its industrial relevance and, as a result, its national impact,” Madrid added.
For more information and to join NUTEC Plastics, visit the NUTEC Portal.