RESEARCH

NMSBA PROJECT REPORT: TESTS FOR POTENTIAL DEGASSING OF HAZARDOUS ORGANICS FROM ALTERNATIVE RECYCLED INSULATING MATERIALS  (click to view pdf)

In 2016, Upcycle Santa Fe was awarded a research grant through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program. With the help of Thom Rahn, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), we set out to study whether compressed plastic waste is as safe as common store-bought insulation materials in as far as chemical emissions, or off-gassing, of alternative, plastic building materials.

Emissions testing with LANL.

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TRASH TO TREASURE  (click to view pdf)

This Schumacher College Holistic Science Masters Degree Dissertation was written by Joseph Stodgel in 2012 in Greyton, South Africa, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The subtitle is Making Rehabilitation a Celebration and Cultivating the Authentic Wholeness of Upcycling. In the paper, Joseph builds a case for upcycling as an authentic holistic way of dealing with waste materials. Drawing from the work of the late Henri Bortoff, and undertaking the creation of a festival of upcycling on the edge of an open dumping site in South Africa, Trash to Treasure is an engaging research project at the frontier of waste and wonder.

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THE APPRECIATION OF PLASTIC  (click to view pdf)

This paper was written by Joseph Stodgel in 2009 whilst studying at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. It provides a small glimpse into the history of plastic, how it has been conventionally dealt with when it becomes waste, how it has come to threaten ourselves and the environment, and how it might be used and reused in a more holistic way.

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PARTNERS & FRIENDS’ SUPPORTING RESEARCH

 

THE ANDREW REPORT: A review of the spread, application and social impact of Ecobrick building techniques six years on in the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Philippines – published June 6th, 2018 by Andrew Dieleman and Russell Maier

Six years after major building projects were completed throughout the Phillipines using Ecobricks, a structural engineer gives his feedback on the pros and cons of this alternative building style.

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PLASTIC WASTE INSULATION, REUSE OF PET FOR HIGH ALTITUDE HOUSES – Huys Advies, Sjoerd Nienhuys, 2004

Many people around the world have been gathering research on the use of PET plastics as an alternative insulation material for buildings.  Here is a thorough report from Nepal where researchers describe the entire process from the moment you purchase a PET plastic wrapped product from the store, to insulating your house with the ‘waste’.