Waste Reduction Week in Canada is well under way. The theme of today is Plastics and Packaging. We are passionate about reducing our carbon footprint and have been successful in recycling 100% post-consumer plastics into usable goods and products. In light of today’s theme, we would like to introduce to you our newest line of products – the Plasti-Block® Paver, made entirely of recycled plastic!
In a world where water resources are becoming more scarce, water-permeable Plasti-Block® Pavers can help make a difference by allowing water to flow through their surface and into the soil below, thereby helping to replenish local aquifers. Conventional patio slabs, pavers, and other non-porous hardscaping materials direct water to storm drains where the water quickly flows away to streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Plasti-Block® Pavers are manufactured from post-consumer waste plastic using a low-energy, low-water-use process to provide the beauty and convenience of hardscaping while also helping the environment.
Since humans began living in concentrated villages or urban settings about 4,000 years ago, the coming of rain and its runoff from roofs and roadways have always been an issue. Stormwater runoff management became ever more significant as cities became larger and dirt paths through them evolved to hard-surfaced roadways. Ancient Greek cities incorporated stormwater engineering.
The problem with roads, cities, parking lots, roofs of buildings, and even the patio in your yard or the deck around your pool, is that they are impermeable surfaces which cause water to collect and to run off causing flooding, damage, and other problems. In natural, undeveloped areas stormwater isn’t a concern as rainfall normally soaks into the ground and is filtered through vegetation, solids, and sand. Surface runoff from rainfall rarely enters ponds, streams, and rivers.
Modern stormwater systems seek to prevent flooding by collecting and conveying the runoff from roads, parking lots, and roofs through pipes to waterways. This causes the smallest rainfall to increase waterway flows, thereby making urban runoff a cause of pollution in its own right, in addition to the toxins it carries from the city and the eroded soils it also transports. For example, studies have found that 75% of the toxic chemicals getting into Seattle, Washington's Puget Sound are carried by stormwater runoff from paved roads and driveways, rooftops, yards, and other developed land. Urban stormwater flows also cause stream erosion, encourage weed invasion, and alter natural flow regimes.
When stormwater infrastructure ages, the costs of inspecting and maintaining such systems becomes an ever-increasing financial burden on municipalities and homeowner associations. The centralized nature of stormwater infrastructure means that poor maintenance may compromise the hydrologic performance of the entire system causing flooding, overflow of sanitary sewer systems, and other public safety issues.
Another unforeseen but significant consequence of urban stormwater management is that the groundwater reserves of freshwater are dwindling as they are no longer being recharged by rainfall infiltrating the soil and percolating down into the aquifers upon which cities rely.
There is, however, a simple way we can all help to solve this problem and eliminate plastic waste at the same time. Omachron combines post-consumer glass and plastic waste in a unique, low-energy, non-polluting process to make affordable, slip-resistant, water-permeable, interlocking blocks and decking systems. We call them Plasti-Block® Pavers. They are blocks and decking systems and they are made of 100% recycled plastic and glass.
These innovative products make beautiful and durable patios, pool decks, driveways, parking lots, walkways, and even roadways. They allow rainwater to soak into the ground naturally, while providing an attractive, easy-to-maintain, non-slip surface.
By using Plasti-Block® Paver products, you reduce the need for private or municipal stormwater infrastructure and the associated maintenance costs, while at the same time improving the supply of groundwater and enhancing the health of local ponds, streams, rivers, and lakes.
In a world where water resources are becoming more scarce, Water-Permeable Plasti-Block® Pavers can help make a difference by allowing water to flow through their surface and into the soil below, thereby helping to replenish local aquifers. Conventional patio slabs, pavers, and other non-porous hardscaping materials direct water to storm drains where the water quickly flows away to streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Plasti-Block® Pavers are manufactured from post-consumer waste plastic using a low-energy, low-water-use process to provide the beauty and convenience of hardscaping while helping the environment.
Consider water-permeable Plasti-Block® Pavers for your walkways, driveways, and parking lots and everywhere hardscaping is desired. Simply put down a layer of sand, a layer of filter fabric, a well packed 6-inch gravel bed for walkways, or a well packed 12-inch gravel bed for driveways and parking lots for a water permeable base for your Plasti-Block® Pavers.