Three families, recyclers by trade, received houses built with recycled material from Tetra Pak packaging, a world leader in food processing and packaging solutions.
With the support of the Latin American Recyclers Network (RED LACRE) and Tetra Pak donated a house built with recovered polyaluminum sheetsof properly recycled Tetra Pak packaging to three families with limited resources from the professional recyclers union.
In total, the house is made up to 70% with recycled materials. To put this pilot project into operation, Habitat for Humanity was selected for its experience in housing solutions in the region.
Improving their quality of life
The goal is for the works to be the beginning of many more, to dignify the work of those who are dedicated to the recycling trade and improve their quality of life, while promoting the culture of maximum use of resources and their proper disposal.
At the same time, it promotes the construction of eco-friendly homes using a sustainable and recycled material such as PolyAl recovered from Tetra Pak containers, which comply with current regulations for the sector and are totally safe. In its design, the last category 5 hurricanes (Irma and María) and the 2011 earthquake in Haiti were even taken as a reference.
The beneficiaries have nearly 10 years of working in the landfills, in the collection, separation and selection of reusable solid waste. They were selected by a specialized multidisciplinary team that evaluated the profiles of all the candidates who, as an additional requirement, had to have the property title of the land.
The houses measure between 45 m2 and 60 m2, are built on concrete and wood supports, with roofs and walls covered in polyaluminum sheets, and were built in less than two months.
Habitat for Humanity empowers families to create strength, stability and self-sufficiency through housing. Since 1986, it has carried out more than 50,000 housing solutions and impacted around 200,000 low-income people, and since 2018, it has innovated with the use of recycled materials in construction.
3 benefits of building with new technology:
Thermal advantages
The houses concentrate less heat transfer, which represents lower energy consumption and offers greater comfort for families.
Savings in time and personnel
The houses are built in a period of 45 to 60 calendar days.
Circular economy solutions
The waste becomes raw material for products with high added value.
