Building with Waste: Reusing Landfill Materials to Create Houses in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

As a result of rapid urbanization, an increase in the cost of living, a lack of affordable housing, and poverty, Fiji has experienced an increase in informal settlements. Informal settlements are unplanned residential communities that organically develop on illegally claimed land with homes constructed to improper building codes or regulations. The houses of these communities are typically made up of poorly constructed, do-ityourself, shack-like dwellings made from rotting plywood, rusted corrugated iron, and scraps of timber. Because of the increasing number of residents in informal settlements, these dwellings are becoming over-crowded with a limited supply of urban infrastructure such as water and electricity. Two resources that informal settlements do not have access to are waste removal and sewage drainage. For many years the government of Fiji has been developing strategies to help informal settlers. However due to the continued increase in demand for these types of settlements, the nation struggles to supply affordable housing and resources for these residents. The intent of this research is to develop alternative building materials using items that are commonly found in this nation’s landfills in an effort to create affordable housing for Fiji’s residents of informal settlements. When building with waste, less money can be spent on building materials. This will allow more money to be used on additional resources to improve the conditions of informal settlements such as proper plumbing, v sewage disposal, water supply, and electricity. Creating alternative materials and educating the residents on how to collect and assemble the new building products will allow the community to capitalize on their skills as a means to earn a profit or create a business building with waste. This will help the settlements economically, as well as, extend the life-cycle of materials accumulating in landfills and other dumpsites.