05/08/2026
This could help in reducing waste that has accumulated in our rivers.
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Filipino researchers are turning difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into construction materials using radiation technology.
Scientists from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) developed the Post-Radiation Reactive Extrusion or PREx Plastic project, which uses radiation processing to improve recycled plastic materials.
The process can modify the structure of polymers and help different types of plastic blend more effectively, allowing waste materials such as sachets to be turned into stronger and more usable products.
Using the technology, researchers produced construction materials including tiles, bricks and wall panels. DOST-PNRI and industry partner Envirotech Waste Recycling later built the PREx Prototype House at the PNRI compound in Diliman, Quezon City to demonstrate how these materials could be used in an actual structure.
Despite the use of radiation during processing, the finished materials do not become radioactive. The radiation is used to change the properties of the plastic, not to make it radioactive.
The prototype house also allows researchers to observe how the materials perform under actual environmental conditions, including their strength and durability over time.
The PREx Prototype House was formally showcased on November 26, 2025, during the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to the DOST-PNRI compound.
The project offers a possible way to give low-value plastic waste a second use while showing how radiation technology can also be applied to environmental and waste-management problems.