Mexican startup builds low-cost homes from recycled plastic in a week
Entrepreneur González's EcoDom converts PET and other plastics into 42-square-meter houses that cost about $280 and can be erected in seven days.
Facing both a plastic waste crisis and a housing shortage, Puebla-born entrepreneur González launched EcoDom to repurpose PET, HDPE, polypropylene and ABS into building materials. After collecting plastic from businesses and collectors, the company processes it into flakes, molds and presses them into structural components, each wall requiring about six kilograms of plastic. The resulting 42-square-meter homes can be built in a week for roughly 5,000 pesos (about $280), with families contributing labor to keep expenses low.
To date EcoDom has sold two houses, given away five homes and three bedrooms, and is preparing a 250-unit development that will also provide training. Interest has come from entities in India, Canada, France, Brazil, South Africa, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, and González is exploring franchising the model beyond Puebla. The venture aims to cut plastic pollution while delivering affordable, quickly assembled housing for low-income families.
Why it matters
It shows how plastic waste can be turned into cheap, fast-built homes for the poor.
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