Recycla-cools: EcoBricks

You know how you see something once and then several times over that day you see that same thing over and over? Well, that happened to me recently. I was scrolling through Instagram and someone mentioned EcoBricks. It came up a couple more times and then my co-worker messaged me, asking about them! It was a sign from the universe, my next post was going to be about EcoBricks after doing some much needed research.

EcoBrick wall. Photo from cobute

🌍 WHAT IS AN ECOBRICK?!

 I think the website puts it best:

An EcoBrick is a reusable building block created by packing clean and dry used plastic into a plastic bottle to a set density.

Essentially, plastic bottles are stuffed with non-recyclable plastics to create a sturdy building block with almost limitless uses. Much like the water bottle houses I covered recently. EcoBrick is a global organisation which is trying to give our essentially value-less trash value. By packing it into a bottle, it has been removed from the ecosystem. This is massively beneficial as it is not only aiming to prevent microplastics entering the food chain (more than it already has) but it is using plastic's longevity for good.

Plastic does not biodegrade, it photodegrades. This means that it is broken up by the sun into smaller and smaller pieces, toxic pieces. They do not belong in the biosphere and are not good for it. EcoBricks take the non-recyclable plastics which would end in landfills or incinerators, such as styrofoam, food packaging, and plastic bags, and give them a positive use. The bricks are indefinitely reusable and can be used on a variety of projects.

Photo from EcoBrick.org

Eco brick library. Photo from Taste.Company

🌍 HOW DO YOU MAKE AN ECOBRICK?

The website offers a 10 step guide along with a minute long video which is informative and easy to follow. By following these steps, you can create an EcoBrick with a density of 0.33g/ml of the chosen bottle size. The steps focus on you creating a consistenly sized and weighted brick, which will not lose integrity over time, as well as providing tips on the best way to make your brick. It also emphasises that the packed plastics need to be clean and dry so nothing can grow inside or make them bloat. 

The steps are:

1. Get your plastic ready

This is making sure your plastics are clean and dry.

2. Choose your bottle.

With projects, consistency is key. If the units have different sized and shaped bottles, then they are not going to make very good building bricks. They recommend using bottles which are prevelent in your community and that you don't specifically buy bottles to use. That defeats the object!

3. Get your stick ready.

This is making sure you have the right tool for the job. For example, long enough, not sharp, etc.

4. No glass, metals, or recyclables

What doesn't go into an EcoBrick is just a important as what does. Some materials will break the bottle, create living material, and already have a recycling option. 

5. Start by adding a bottom colour

This is for creating uniformity in the block. 

6. Pack the bottle tight and mix plastics as you go

This is to create the ideal density for your bottle. They have discovered that a third of the bottle's volume is the ideal minimum density. This means a 600ml bottle should be ~200g whereas a 1500ml bottle should be ~500g.

7. Weigh your EcoBrick to ensure quality

This is especially important for beginners who don't necessarily know how much plastic is needed for the ideal density. I can image over time, this becomes slightly less imperative during the making process as you'd get a feel for it, as it were.

8. Log your EcoBrick

To keep track of all the bricks made for your project, EcoBrick have designed a universal application for you to log your bricks: GoBrik.com. This gives individual bricks unique codes and keeps an online record of what you've made.

9. Label your EcoBrick

There is no point having a unique code and not putting it on the corresponding brick! People also often put messages on them for the future generations who will reuse the bricks.

10. Add vision and store your EcoBrick

This gives the best advice on storing your bricks until they are ready to use.

From EcoBrick Facebook UK

The website is very colourful and friendly; there are even further support documents you can download. There is also a UK based closed Facebook group you can join, which offers help and ideas from those already doing projects.

Photo from EcoBrick.org

🌍 WHAT CAN BE MADE WITH ECOBRICKS?

 I think the question should be what can't be made with EcoBricks. Just to name a few things:

• Modular furniture
• Garden spaces
• Walls
• Full scale buildings
• Even yoga bricks!

From EcoBricks.org

Binding with cob. Aka earth. Photo from EcoBrick Facebok UK

There are five different styles of brick modules which can be bound with tire bands, silicone, cob, or concrete. Each come with their advantages and disavantages, some are better suited for certain projects. But all of them are relatively easy to assemble, akin to building Lego. The only binding agent they don't reccommend is concrete because demolishing concrete structures often ruptures the brick - rendering them un-reusable.

Keep fit with the EcoBrick. Photo from EcoBrick.org

EcoBrick planter. Photo from Pinterest

EcoBrick vegetable plot. Something I want! Photo from Pinterest

EcoBrick garden wall. Photo from Tamar Community Peace

🌍 WHY ECOBRICK?

Plastic pollution is a major problem which we are facing at the moment and for all the individual can do to try and reduse plastic use, it is still out there in droves. Even my redused plastic still brings the bastard stuff in. And so many people don't actively try to reduce their use; so we are fighting that too. But by taking people's waste (which they still insist on creating) and giving it a purpose, giving it a use; we are contributing to an effective solution to pollution. It's not the only solution, but it's a damn good one.

It's community driven. It is a global movement. It is creating something so much bigger than the individual. And it's taking plastic away from the environment, protecting it from being further saturated with microplastics. It's an easy way to take responsibility for your waste. Just think of the possibilities if every household turned their unrecyclable plastic waste into EcoBricks!

Over 1000kg of plastic has been logged. Photo from EcoBrick.org

🌍 WHERE CAN I ECOBRICK IN SHROPSHIRE?

This is the first question I cannot really answer. Searching just brought up one article about one woman doing it and gaining viral traction online. It wasn't even clear if she was from Shropshire. So what does this mean?

It means that I should do something.

I would love to start an EcoBricking chapter in Market Drayton, please holler if you feel the same. If I can gain enough support - it is a community effort, not a ranty mermaid's effort - I would happily click the sign up button and get the ball rolling. I don't know what the town needs or if we'd be better off donating the bricks to those who do need them; but I want to contribute. 

The lifecycle of EcoBrick plastic. Photo from lovetostay

Who's with me?

 ECOBRICKS

"a solution to pollution"