Turning Plastic Waste into Benches with Sustainable Upcycling

In Lima, Peru, a city of around 12 million people, approximately 9,000 tons of waste are generated daily. Unfortunately, less than 2% of this waste is recycled, with much of it being plastic. This sparked the idea to turn the plastic waste into something useful.

It takes about 11,500 plastic caps to make one bench. We can also recycle plastic containers, such as shampoo bottles. The plastic is heated to 240 degrees Celsius and molded into rods, legs, and backrests. It takes about 15 minutes to form one rod, and once cooled, the bench is assembled much like a wooden bench.

Sr. Carina is in Peru as part of the horizont3000 advisory program, working to implement sustainable initiatives. Thanks to the organization and the company Plasticpreneur from Wiener Neustadt, its possible to start recycling plastic in a meaningful way. In Lima, many products are sold in plastic bottles, but disposal practices are inadequate.

This led to begin producing soap dishes, flower pots, and rulers primarily from plastic bottle caps. Only plastic with the numbers 2 or 5 inside the recycling triangle can be melted down. The material is first collected, washed, and sorted before being shredded and molded.

The process of making a plastic bench is labor-intensive. Two workers from the local community in Chorrillos, Lima, are responsible for collecting and processing the plastic. Community members bring their plastic waste to church services, and thanks to a cargo bike donated by the MIVA organization, it’s now easier to transport the materials. While we can’t melt down plastic bottles themselves, we can sell them and use the proceeds to help cover the energy costs for our machinery.

Our machines were co-financed by various donors, including the "Fastenaktion" of the Diocese of St. Pölten, which has supported many environmental initiatives in the past.

Special thanks to Sven Zangerl, a chemistry student from Vienna, who was sent by Plasticpreneur to gain practical experience. His input, along with the efforts of our local team, has helped us come up with even more creative ideas for our production.