Plastics in Your Home?

In this modern age, plastics in our homes are a bygone conclusion. This reality is likely not an issue to most, until we learn the short/long-term impacts to our health.

Recently, Dutch scientists have found microplastics in human blood (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). A percentage of these microplastics are linked to building materials. For example, paints and coatings can release millions of microplastic particles into the air we breathe during the lifetime of a building. Artificial turfs have microplastic particles that are carried inside our homes by the wind or whenever we come to contact with them.

Plastic-based building materials are sometimes more durable and more economical than traditional materials. Not surprisingly, their use in construction continues to grow every year to the point that the construction sector might be the second largest user of plastic, with a large percentage of plastic going to waste.

The most common types of plastics used for construction applications are Acrylic (paint, concrete coatings), Composites (deck), Polypropylene (carpet, electrical insulation) and PVC (pipes, window frames).

The percentage of microplastics from construction materials might be lower than other materials that have plastics; however, some industries and consumers are looking at alternative and plastic-free building materials and components that are not so harmful to our bodies and environment. The goal is not to completely eliminate plastic-based materials, but to reduce their use.

Some of the most common alternative materials that can be incorporated into a building are rammed earth, hempcrete, timber, steel, and plant-based rigid foam. BONSAI would be happy to help you integrate high performance and environmentally safe principles into your new home.