Uploaded June 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A Colombian company, Conceptos Plasticos was founded by three Colombians including Oscar Andres Mendez, transforms plastic and rubber waste into an alternative construction material for housing. The plastic waste is melted and poured into a mould to produce plastic blocks that work like LEGO pieces. The materials contain additive that makes them resistant to fire, and since the structure is plastic-based, it can also withstand earthquakes. The LEGO-like building blocks are easy to assemble and pocket-friendly.
Oscar Andres Mendez, the founder and representative at The Venture Final, is an architect and entrepreneur who grew up in Bogota. He studied architecture at The Pontifical Xavierian University, and Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania, both of which have played a fundamental impact in starting Conceptos Plásticos. In addition to Oscar, their core entrepreneurial team consists of Isabel Cristina, Henry, Jesus, and Fernando. They also have plenty of support from a wider team of people who contribute to their business.
Mendez’s company, Conceptos Plasticos, was founded in 2010, and uses an industrial process called extrusion to create its special plastic bricks. They consist of using multi-layered plastics and rubber to ensure the high-quality and highly-durable construction materials.
Fire and earthquake resistant, the Lego-style building blocks provide cheap housing solutions that are simple to assemble. Communities and families able to construct their own homes after a short training session. By recycling plastic to build homes, plastic is prevented from going to landfills thereby reducing water and energy consumption-also CO2 emissions.
Triple impacts
This is an initiative of triple impacts: economic impact, environmental impact and social impact. Now the invention has started to benefit thousands of homeless, who are having their own housed built mainly in suburbs with the special chunks.
The housing deficit in Latin America is tremendous. 40% percent of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America do not own a home. One in seven people in the world lives in extreme poverty. Then Mendez wanted to improve this situation by offering houses.
With wide use of the new building components, Colombia also expects to downsize contamination caused by thrown-away plastics.
In 2016, Conceptos Plásticos won $353,148 in the latest edition of The Chivas Venture to step up its production on a global scale, after beating 26 other international initiatives with social impact. “Our comprehensive project benefits lots of vulnerable sectors, it also creates a sustainable solution that endures over time. The building process involves entire families and communities while mitigating the environmental problem caused by pollution, which of course leads to climate change,” they state in their profile on Chivas Venture’s website. “The project also has a social impact in impoverished areas most in need, where the unique designs of the building elements, based on recycled materials, allows anyone to build quickly, efficiently and cheaply.”
A Colombian company, Conceptos Plasticos was founded by three Colombians including Oscar Andres Mendez, transforms plastic and rubber waste into an alternative construction material for housing. The plastic waste is melted and poured into a mould to produce plastic blocks that work like LEGO pieces. The materials contain additive that makes them resistant to fire, and since the structure is plastic-based, it can also withstand earthquakes. The LEGO-like building blocks are easy to assemble and pocket-friendly.
Oscar Andres Mendez, the founder and representative at The Venture Final, is an architect and entrepreneur who grew up in Bogota. He studied architecture at The Pontifical Xavierian University, and Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania, both of which have played a fundamental impact in starting Conceptos Plásticos. In addition to Oscar, their core entrepreneurial team consists of Isabel Cristina, Henry, Jesus, and Fernando. They also have plenty of support from a wider team of people who contribute to their business.
Mendez’s company, Conceptos Plasticos, was founded in 2010, and uses an industrial process called extrusion to create its special plastic bricks. They consist of using multi-layered plastics and rubber to ensure the high-quality and highly-durable construction materials.
Fire and earthquake resistant, the Lego-style building blocks provide cheap housing solutions that are simple to assemble. Communities and families able to construct their own homes after a short training session. By recycling plastic to build homes, plastic is prevented from going to landfills thereby reducing water and energy consumption-also CO2 emissions.
Triple impacts
This is an initiative of triple impacts: economic impact, environmental impact and social impact. Now the invention has started to benefit thousands of homeless, who are having their own housed built mainly in suburbs with the special chunks.
The housing deficit in Latin America is tremendous. 40% percent of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America do not own a home. One in seven people in the world lives in extreme poverty. Then Mendez wanted to improve this situation by offering houses.
With wide use of the new building components, Colombia also expects to downsize contamination caused by thrown-away plastics.
In 2016, Conceptos Plásticos won $353,148 in the latest edition of The Chivas Venture to step up its production on a global scale, after beating 26 other international initiatives with social impact. “Our comprehensive project benefits lots of vulnerable sectors, it also creates a sustainable solution that endures over time. The building process involves entire families and communities while mitigating the environmental problem caused by pollution, which of course leads to climate change,” they state in their profile on Chivas Venture’s website. “The project also has a social impact in impoverished areas most in need, where the unique designs of the building elements, based on recycled materials, allows anyone to build quickly, efficiently and cheaply.”
