Use of Advanced Plastic Materials in Nigeria: Performance Assessment of Expanded Polystyrene Building Technology System

The provision of affordable residential houses for the masses in the developing nations has been a mirage over the years and the future does not portend good as the cost of adopting conventional concrete material technologies is escalating while so many environmental issues like climate change are being raised in the recent times.To circumvent this poor housing provision trend, some innovative construction materials and technologies are being introduced to facilitate unique modular designs, reduction of labour, decline in the depletion of exhaustible materials,savings of time and fund. One of such materials is the expanded polystyrene. The introduction of advanced plastic materials and in particular the expanded polystyrene building technologies in the Nigerian constructionindustry will be a very useful and brilliant initiative that will aid the reduction of cost of construction and facilitate access to affordable houses for the masses.This researchaims at studying the applications of this innovative plastic material in the Nigerian building industry with special regard to the performance perception by the clients and the end users. A building estate where expanded polystyrene building technology has been predominantly used in Abuja is considered as a case study. Questionnaires were distributed among clients and residents of the building estate and statistical tools were used to analyse the data collected. Great satisfaction verified among the clients and residents and the high ranking performance confirmed for recyclability, reliability, versatility and moisture resistance of EPS building products all herald a great future for the applications of this advanced building products in the Nigerian building industry