ECOBRICK
A bottle with plenty of power
Background
A bottle full of plastic.
What is an Ecobrick?
An Ecobrick is a PET bottle tightly packed with cleaned plastic waste that can be used as a sturdy building block.
Making Ecobricks is simple: first, plastic waste is collected and thoroughly cleaned. Once dry, it is stuffed layer by layer into a rinsed PET bottle using a bamboo stick. The more carefully this process is carried out, the sturdier the Ecobrick will be.
Once the bottle is well compressed, it is ready for use. A 1.5-liter bottle should weigh about 500 grams to be used as a sustainable building block.
The history of Ecobricks
It all started in 2003 in Guatemala. At that time, Susanne Heisse collected plastic waste and packed it tightly into plastic bottles. She built a wall from these first Ecobricks. Her simple act has inspired people all over the world to this day: from South America to Southeast Asia and South Africa.
Of course, you can create and build more with Ecobricks. Many school buildings made from Ecobricks have already been built in Guatemala, education about Ecobricks has been integrated into the curriculum in the northern Philippines, and on Sumatra, Indonesia, we have built the world’s largest recycling village with Ecobricks!
The added value of Ecobricks
If you have ever been to Indonesia or another developing country, you know the sight: plastic waste as far as the eye can see. On the streets, amidst beautiful nature, or floating in the rivers. And if the waste is not simply left behind, it is often openly burned – with all the consequences for humans and the environment.
Right where functioning disposal systems are lacking, the Ecobrick represents an effective solution. It prevents plastic from entering nature, being washed through rivers into the seas, or ending up in the stomachs of animals. And it ensures that the waste does not decompose into microplastics over decades, throwing functioning ecosystems out of balance.
Equally important: The production of an Ecobrick prevents the open burning of plastic. This smoke is not only hazardous to health, but also releases large amounts of CO₂. By collecting and incorporating the plastic, it is prevented that this waste is openly burned and harmful gases as well as CO₂ enter the atmosphere.
And something else makes Ecobricks so special: Through our deposit system, they become a real opportunity for people who urgently need an income. Every Ecobrick is a small building block for a cleaner environment – and a huge support for the people who protect it.
However, because we do not just want to fight symptoms, but want to solve the problem at its root, we do not rely on the Ecobrick alone. At the same time, we are building sustainable local waste management structures.
When plastic collection becomes a source of income
Our Ecobrick Deposit System
Innovation, Community, and Real Impact.
Ecobricks are a great way to safely collect and compress plastic waste – but their true power only unfolds when many people join in. That is exactly why we created a deposit system that combines environmental and social impact.
Our local managers explain to the people on-site how they can become active themselves: collect plastic waste from nature, rivers, or their own households, clean it, dry it – and then stuff it tightly into a PET bottle until a sturdy Ecobrick is formed.
For each Ecobrick, people receive 5,500 Indonesian Rupiah, equivalent to around 30 cents. Two Ecobricks are already enough for a full meal.
The drop off takes place on several days a month at our Eco Garages. There, the Ecobricks are weighed, checked for quality, and directly reimbursed.
What started small has meanwhile become an important pillar for many families. Around 50 dedicated residents drop off their Ecobricks with us every month, thus providing an additional opportunity to improve their household budgets. Every single one of them contributes to noticeably freeing the environment from plastic waste while simultaneously providing for their own family.
Our Ecobrick Construction Method
In order to use Ecobricks as meaningfully as possible in our buildings, we have further developed and perfected our circular construction method over many years regarding its circularity. Therefore, we use local, naturally occurring materials and place great value on recyclability.
The main load bearing structure consists of the rapidly growing raw material bamboo, which is significantly more climate friendly than wood. Our palm leaf roofs and our wooden floors also consist of regenerative materials. The Ecobricks are built into the infills between the bamboo supports in combination with clay.
Our locally available, machine free manufactured clay is not only climate friendly in production, but also ensures the easy dismantleability of the walls. It consists of natural clay and the waste products cow dung and rice husks. The Ecobricks are walled up with the clay similar to bricks and protected from decomposition by environmental influences like UV light and rain through an outer layer of clay.
Thus, rivers and rainforest are protected from contamination by microplastics, and the upcycled plastic waste is designed in such a way that the materials can be largely separated by type and recycled again after the usage phase.
And so that everyone all over the world can copy our innovative and sustainable construction method, we have worked out a manual with our architects and engineers that contains an exact step by step guide as well as everything worth knowing.
Our construction method combines the Ecobrick as a building block with local and natural materials.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?
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