ECOBRICK
Learn more about our wonder building block
Background
A bottle full of plastic.
What is an Ecobrick?
An Ecobrick is a tightly packed PET bottle filled with cleaned plastic waste, which can be used as a stable building block.
Ecobricks are easy to make: first, plastic waste is collected and thoroughly cleaned. Once it is completely dry, it is packed into a rinsed PET bottle layer by layer using a bamboo stick. The more carefully this process is carried out, the more stable the Ecobrick becomes.
As soon as the bottle is well compressed, it is ready for use. A 1.5-liter bottle should weigh around 500 grams to be suitable as a sustainable building block.
The history of Ecobricks
It all began in Guatemala in 2003. At the time, Susanne Heisse collected plastic waste and stuffed it tightly into plastic bottles. She used these first Ecobricks to build a wall. Her simple act has inspired people all over the world to this day: from South America to South East Asia and South Africa.
Of course, you can create more with Ecobricks. In Guatemala, many school buildings have already been constructed from Ecobricks, in the north of the Philippines, teaching using Ecobricks has been integrated into the curriculum and in Sumatra, Indonesia, we have built the largest recycling village in the world with Ecobricks!
The benefits of Ecobricks
If you’ve ever been to Indonesia or another developing country, you’ll know the picture all too well: plastic waste wherever you look. On the streets, scattered across beautiful landscapes, or floating in the rivers. And when the waste isn’t simply left lying around, it is often openly burned – with all the consequences this brings for people and the environment.
In those places where proper waste management systems are lacking, Ecobricks offer an effective solution. They prevent plastic from ending up in nature, being carried through rivers into the oceans, or being ingested by animals. They also help ensure that the waste doesn’t break down into microplastics over decades, disrupting fragile ecosystems.
Just as important: producing an Ecobrick also prevents the open burning of plastic. This smoke is not only harmful to human health, but also releases large amounts of CO₂. A single 500-gram Ecobrick stores around 1.5 kilograms of CO₂ that would otherwise be emitted directly into the atmosphere through open burning.
And there is another reason why Ecobricks are so valuable: through our deposit system, they provide a real opportunity for people who urgently need an income. Each Ecobrick is a small building block for a cleaner environment – and a meaningful source of support for the communities protecting it.
But because we don’t want to fight symptoms alone, we go further than relying on Ecobricks. At the same time, we are building sustainable waste management structures in our project area.
When pastic collection becomes a source of income
Our Ecobrick deposit system
Innovation, community and real impact.
Ecobricks are a powerful way to safely collect and compress plastic waste – but their true potential unfolds only when many people take part. That’s why we created a deposit system that combines environmental and social impact.
Our local managers show community members how they can get involved themselves: collecting plastic waste from nature, rivers, or their own households, cleaning and drying it, and then tightly packing it into a PET bottle until a stable Ecobrick is formed.
For each Ecobrick, people receive 5,500 Indonesian Rupiah – roughly 30 cents. Two ecobricks are already enough to pay for a full meal.
Collection takes place on several days each month at our Eco Garages, where the Ecobricks are weighed, checked for quality, and paid out immediately.
What started small has grown into an important source of support for many families: Around 50 dedicated residents hand in their Ecobricks every month, earning a reliable part of their income. Each one of them helps to noticeably reduce plastic pollution in the environment – while also supporting their own families.
Our Ecobrick construction method
To make the most meaningful use of Ecobricks in our buildings, we have spent many years developing and perfecting our sustainable construction methods with a focus on circularity. That’s why we rely on locally sourced, naturally occurring materials and place great importance on dismantlability.
The main structural framework is made from the fast-growing raw material bamboo, which is significantly more climate-friendly than wood. Our palm leaf roofs and wooden floors are also made from renewable materials. The Ecobricks are integrated into the infill between the bamboo supports, combined with clay.
The locally available, machine-free produced clay is not only climate-friendly in production but also ensures that the walls can be dismantled without problems. It consists of natural clay and waste products such as cow dung and rice husks. The Ecobricks are mortared with the clay in a manner similar to bricks and protected from environmental degradation – such as UV exposure and rain – by an outer layer of clay.
This approach prevents rivers and rainforests from being contaminated by microplastics, and the upcycled plastic waste can be fully reintegrated or reused at the end of the building’s lifecycle according to the Cradle-to-Cradle principle, without any environmental impact.
To enable anyone around the world to replicate our innovative and sustainable construction methods, we have developed a manual together with our architects and engineers, providing a detailed step-by-step guide and all the essential knowledge needed.
Our construction approach integrates Ecobricks as building blocks with local, natural materials.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?
Are you on Team Jungle, Team Tiger or with the Plastic Conquerors?
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