The EcoBrick

The EcoBrick is a simple solution to turn plastic waste into green construction material. Essentially, it is a way to keep plastic out of landfills and the ocean, and to use as thermally-insulated building blocks.

What is an Ecobrick?

EcoBricks are constructed from 2-litre plastic bottles that have been tightly packed with non-biodegradable waste. Keep your bottle near your bin so that all plastic waste can be put into the bottle. It helps to use a wooden stick of sorts, such as the handle of a wooden spoon, to compact the plastic as much as possible. An EcoBrick is complete when the bottle can no longer be squeezed, and there should be no space inside the bottle. EcoBricks should weigh about 500 grams.

Cape Town alone has over one-million households, and if each house produced one EcoBrick a week, there would be enough EcoBricks to build over 600 classrooms. But rather, these are sent to dumps and landfills. There are many exciting ways to use EcoBricks from home. Upgrade your garden with a raised flower bed. Communities can build interactive structures like park benches, boundary structures or temporary exhibition structures.

Non-recyclable waste that can go in EcoBricks:

– Laminated paper

– Photos and transparencies

– Polystyrene cups / trays

– Plastic vegetable and fruit punnets

– Silvery packets (chips, chocolates, etc.)

– P.E.T. trays

– Wax paper

– Dog food bags

– Straws