After analysing two specific case studies where plastic waste was used – facade panels on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and a pavement in a California Department of Transportation road project – Lepech and Li used a mix of computer modelling, scientific research, experimental and field data, as well as interviews with recycling industry stakeholders to reveal the potential of recycled glass fibre reinforced polymer composite – a tensile plastic commonly used in car, boat, and plane parts – as a promising material for reuse in buildings.