EcoBricking

Recently I have heard of a new concept called ecobricking. Essentially, ecobricks are plastic bottles that are then packed with smaller pieces of plastic. When finished the ecobrick is very dense and can be used to produce various goods like furniture, benches, houses and more.

A Brief Overview On The History of Plastic

Single use plastics are everywhere. When we purchase from a store that contains many goods wrapped in plastic, this plastic is often thrown away very quickly. Though it may be “out of sight out of mind” for the consumer, the plastic does not decompose and still remains. Some ends up in landfills, while other small pieces get lost on the way. Plastic can clog drains or enter nearby streams and rivers and the sea, impacting creatures both large and small. The plastic that is polluting our planet did not truly originate in a factory. Looking back in time scientists have been able to recognize that plastic came from ancient Earth when the carbon molecules that compose plastic today contributed to the prospering biosphere. This began with photosynthesis when organisms transform sunlight by taking in carbon dioxide and creating sugars from the carbon to store energy. With this process plantlife spread rapidly across the globe. Over time, this removed carbon from the air. This process continued and plants everywhere successfully transformed carbon. When these plants died, however, they would fall to the ground or deep in the sea. Over time as the Earth cooled and changed, the carbon-rich organic matter from these dead organisms turned into carbon storage deposits. Humans eventually found ways to access this carbon and use it for energy (fossil fuels.) But as more and more factories were created to produce goods and economies flourished, the population realized that when creating fossil fuels from organic compacted carbon deposits there was residue called ‘naphtha’. With some experimentation, this ‘naphtha’ made from filtering petroleum could be used to make plastics. This plastic innovation was used everywhere in a wide variety of goods all over the globe, creating significant amounts of waste.

How EcoBricks Put Plastic To Use

Ecobricks are a means of utilizing plastic that would ordinarily be thrown into landfills. Instead of being placed in a nearby trash can, single-use plastic can be cut into smaller pieces that are collected to eventually fill a plastic bottle. Once this bottle is filled, you should not be able to dent it and it should be very dense, hence the name ecobrick. As mentioned above, these bottles are then collected and used to build new things. This is a great way to limit the amount of plastic going into our biosphere and instead take ownership for the plastic that we’ve used.

Where To Donate Your Ecobrick

Instead of throwing away your ecobrick or recycling it, you bring it to an organization near you that will put them to use.

Learn more about how you, your family and friends and community as a whole can get involved in ecobricking at https://www.ecobricks.org