Here in Tucson, AZ ByFusion can take discarded food packaging, plastic grocery bags and bubble wrap, etc, that recycling plants often can’t process and turn it into ByBlocks, 22-pound construction blocks. The ByBlock creation process just uses steam and compression.
When Tucson ran a pilot progrm in 2022 to gauge public interest, they collected 110 tons of plastics to be turned into the blocks, more than double their goal. Clearly, the idea is taking off.
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How I Participate in the Tucson ByBlock Program
It is pretty easy!
- I have a bag in my garage that I fill up with my excess plastic bags etc (scroll down to see what is accepted) and then I put it in the big orange drop off bins (picture below) at a facility here in town periodically.
Drop offs are currently accepted (as of April 2024) at Tucson’s council offices of wards 2, 4, 5, and 6 as well as Fire Station 15 on S. Mission Road. The city may eventually offer residential and commercial pickup services, we’ll see! - While I am at it I take standard #1 and #2 plastic items and put them in their other bin. I do this now because I’m actually not sure if my home recycling/trash company is recycling plastic correctly. More below, for some of the issues that plastic recycling faces.
- I also drop off glass bottles in another bin since Tucson now crushes and uses glass for projects versus running recycling projects. Again, I figure the city’s plan may be better than my home recycling company’s.
The facilities also have drop off bins for cardboard, too. Since I can drop off so much now I’m actually contemplating turning off my ‘home recycling’ service and just having a trash can. Although, since composting and purchasing less often leaves us with little in the trash can, I’m wondering if I might eventually be able to stop the trash service as well.
Some Thoughts
Of course, first minimizing how many plastic products you buy is the first and very important yet sometimes difficult step. Zero waste is my goal for sure, but in our current world most folks have some extra plastic that accumulates, and may not be recyclable.
And you may have read that the story of #1 & #2 plastic recycling isn’t a pretty one:
“Just 9% of the plastic gets recycled. The rest goes to landfills, incinerators, or ends up in our oceans”.
ByFusion Website
So these ByBlocks are one very interesting solution to the plastics problem ‘for now’.
Since each ByBlock is made out of 100% non-recyclable plastic content, it is probably one of the more sustainable building block options on the market. ByFusion says its manufacturing process is carbon neutral, and no extra chemicals are required. The plastic is not melted in the upcycling process, and standard building materials such as drywall, siding and tile can be applied to the surface of the blocks.
What Kind of Plastic are Accepted?
This ByFusion page’s ‘What We Take’ section has a nice summary and great pictures.
It basically comes down to ‘most anything you cannot put in your standard recycling bin’. Of course your situation may vary a bit as different cities and companies have different recycling approaches. From the ByFusion page, here is what is typically accepted for ByBlocks:
- Plastic films – Plastic films are used to wrap and cover items such as packages, mail, food (bread, cereal, etc), clothes, durable goods, and other common items to protect them. Plastic film is also used to make plastic bags.
- Multi-layered packaging – Multi-layered packaging can be made using different types of materials including but not limited to plastic films, metals, and paper. They are designed to give barrier properties, strength and storage stability to food items, new materials, electronics, etc.
- Food packages and containers – Everything from clamshell, multi-compartment food containers, cups, coffee cups/lids, straws, to coffee bags. If RPET and bioplastic containers aren’t acceptable in the blue bin, we can take it!
- Rigid plastics – Rigid plastics include foam pump soap bottles, pill bottles, caps, tags, and black plastics – any household/pantry that is more stiff than film that cannot go in the blue bin.
Does My City Offer This?
I’ve contacted ByFusion for a list of other cities that may be currently participating in their program, and what people can do if they want their city to participate.
ByFusion is also launching a new program as of Earth Day 2024 where people can mail their plastic to them, to be turned into ByBlocks. Here’s the pre-registration link.
Helpful Links
ByFusion
Check out their website, the pre-registration link to mail in your plastic, and their @byfusion Instagram with cool pictures and projects. They also sell the colorful blocks as art in their store.
Tucson.com April 2024 update article
In May 2023 the City Council unanimously approved a four-year, $1 million contract with the company and made Tucson the first in the world to scale up the program to a city-wide service. A new facility at the Los Reales Sustainability Campus is expected to begin operation in the summer of 2025.
Tucson’s Climate Action Hub
The City of Tucson is taking a holistic and multi-pronged approach to address climate change and increase the city’s resiliency.
Home in Flagstaff, AZ being built with ByBlocks
“The coolest thing are these green ones are from fishing nets from the great Pacific Ocean trash island.”
Fronteras 2023 update article
Has some background on the staggering statistics on plastics and how Tucson’s ByBlock program has fared.
Zero Waste Home
When I read Bea Johnson’s 2013 book Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying your Life by Reducing your Waste it really got me thinking, as did her blog. I’ve tried to gradually implement her suggestions of the 5 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot. Her site has a list of products she uses, and I have purchased some. Tucson’s Cero zero waste store is also excellent. See Wikipedia’s zero waste page for some history.
Questions?
@diyecoguy on YouTube | BlueSky
Or Email Me (chris@diyecoguy.com)
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© April 25, 2024 Chris Graber