From trash to tiles
Radiation-processed plastic waste now used as construction materials
From trash to tiles. Who would have thought that the eye sores commonly found in every Filipino home can now be used to build houses and buildings too? Indeed, through the use of radiation technology, trash such as plastic packaging and containers can now be modified, and made durable to become tiles and bricks that can efficiently make homes and buildings stronger and also more attractive.
This is made possible through project called Post-radiation Reactive Extrusion of Plastic Wastes (PREx Plastic), led by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and technology (DOST-PNRI).
To demonstrate the strength and effectiveness of the radiation-processed plastics turned into tiles and bricks, the PNRI and its partner, the Davao City-based Envirotech Waste Recycling Incorporated, built the “PREx Prototype House.” A prototype of a common residential house that uses PREx plastic for tiles and walls, the PREx House will be the testing site of how the said plastics will maintain strength and durability in the daily household grind.
Radiation technology explained
“Irradiation manipulates the behavior of polymers in plastic for better practical compatibility, and enhancing the mechanical properties of recycled materials,” explains Dr. Jordan Madrid on the process behind radiation technology. Madrid is the PREx project leader and head of the PNRI Chemistry Research Section.
Such goes to show that radiation, commonly associated with medical applications such as X-ray and CT scan, is now being used to address the mounting plastic pollution in the country and likewise support the country’s recycling, manufacturing, and construction industries.
Partnership for advocacy and application
PNRI, in addition to Envirotech, also partners with its sister agency, the DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute in harnessing radiation to upcycle plastic wastes. PREx Plastic project also gets the support of the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development and the International Atomic Energy Agency as it aligns in the IAEA NUTEC Plastics Project which focuses on the use of nuclear technologies for environmental and industrial development.
The result of the study on the PREx House performance will be a significant step in curbing the growth of plastic pollution in the Philippines.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi himself will launch the PREx Prototype House on Nov. 26 at the PNRI grounds in Quezon City as part of the International High Level Forum on NUTEC (NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution) Plastics.
Said forum, to be held on Nov. 25-26, 2025 at the Conrad Manila Hotel will bring together countries and partners from around the world to fight plastic pollution with nuclear science on two fronts: at point of source, by improving plastic recycling and developing new bio-based plastics; and in the ocean, where the bulk of plastic waste ends up. More information on the forum and its livestream link are available at https://www.iaea.org/events/nutec-2025.
(PNRI-Nuclear Information and Documentation Section)
An artist's rendering of the Post-radiation Reactive Extrusion of Plastic Wastes (PREx) Prototype House to be launched on November 26 at the PNRI grounds in Quezon City as part of the International High Level Forum on NUTEC (NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution) Plastics
Plastic pellets being irradiated at PNRI's Electron Beam facility as part of the reprocessing and recycling technology
