In refugee camps, waste management is often inadequate. Trash piles up, and plastic waste is also used as fuel by residents to keep warm. This process releases health-hazardous gases for everyone living there, including many children. There is a need to ensure better handling of plastics, and Engineers Without Borders aimed to solve this problem.
Prosjektet deres ved navn Waste for Warmth fikk støtte av Handelens Miljøfond til å lage isoleringsprodukter av plastavfall i flyktningeleire. Plastavfall brukes for å sørge for at for eksempel flyktningtelt eller skolebygg blir bedre isolert. Det vil gjøre at byggene holder bedre på varmen om vinteren, og at de er i bedre stand til å holde varmen ute om sommeren. For skolebygg er det også en stor fordel at isolering bidrar til mindre støy, for eksempel når det er monsun og regnet slår mot takene.
Plastic waste becomes tarpaulins, roofs, and floors
Engineers Without Borders transforms plastic waste into insulation in the form of tarpaulins, roofs, or floors. The project uses small machines that facilitate small-scale production of insulation material from plastic waste. The project is run by Engineers Without Borders Norway, in collaboration with local partners who are also engineers.
Through this project, Engineers Without Borders creates a market for local plastic waste that would otherwise accumulate or be burned. At the same time, they contribute to improving the living conditions for people living under challenging humanitarian conditions and create important jobs for displaced people.