“Subside the usage of Plastic”

An ecobrick is a plastic bottle packed with plastic to a set density to create a

reusable building block. Ecobricks are used to make modular furniture, garden spaces
and full-scale buildings such as schools and houses. Ecobricks are a collaboration-
powered technology that provides a zero-cost solid waste solution for individuals, as
an Eco-Brick, a bottle brick, and Ecoladrillo, this local waste solution has come to be
known as 'ecobricks' (non-hyphenated, and non-capitalized) by a growing movement of
communities around the world.

Love it or hate, there’s no denying that plastic is unique! Plastic is made from
petroleum and natural gas. These are the result of a process that takes hundreds of
millions of years to transform ancient forests and algae into petroleum under the
earth. Crude oil and natural gas are extracted from the earth, refined, and turned into
fuels. The petrochemical byproducts of this process are then used to make
plastics. Plastic itself is the result of a century of focused human innovation to create
such miraculous things as photographic film, water-fast containers, and all sorts of
devices that enable our modern life. For the last decades, the unique properties of
plastic have been used more and more by large corporations to further their global
business. Plastic has served the global corporations to make cheap products they can
ship around the world. Meanwhile local communities and biospheres have had to pay
the full price of the resulting plastic waste. With ecobriks we have a chance to turn this
all around. Ecobricks enable us to put plastic (and all its good properties) to use in
benefit of local communities and ecosystems. With ecobricks, we use the characteristics
of plastic that were once so problematic – longevity, durability and water fastness, and
instead put it to practical and green use. Be sure to read on about the short and long
term applications of ecobricks.

First and most significantly, the very process of Ecobricking gets to the roots of
pollution in collective consciousness.Pollution is fundamentally caused by short
sighted thinking. For those who have never made an Ecobrick, it is a time consuming,
monotonous and laborious process. It can take hours of dedicated work and a large
sack of plastic to make a single 0.5kg Ecobrick. The process is inherently meditative. It
lends itself towards existential reflection on each piece of “trash” being stashed and its
otherwise linear route: Where did it come from? Where is it going? Why is it
here? Where will it be in 100 years? (Would it be better to just grow my own
coffee?). To honor future generations and other species, we must begin by thinking of
them. Ecobricks provide an absolutely invaluable spark to such reflection (this very
article and your reading of it is an example of this). Ecobricks become a catalyst to
envisioning one’s lifestyle in deeper harmony with the circles of life.

Secondly, making an Ecobrick makes use of the very problem (the longevity of
the plastic) to seal the potential toxics away. In the words of Bill Watson, founder of the
principles of permaculture “The problemis the solution”. PET bottles are readily
available in regions were recycling facilities are inadequate. Because of the incredible
longevity of PET that is protected from UV rays, Ecobricking becomes a halt to the
linear flow of waste and an infinitely recycleable building block. When applied properly,
Ecobricks become a real world LEGO block. Ecobrick documentation directs using
cob* (as opposed to cement) to build with. Bricks are laid completely encased in cob
mortar so that there is no UV exposure to the PET plastic. When an Ecobrick
construction comes to its end, the cob mortar crumbles to allow easy separation of
intact bricks from the rubble for the next construction. An Ecobrick thus becomes a
cradle-to-cradle, infinitely reusable building-block.* In such a way, Ecobricks open the
way for a virtually infinite cycling of ‘non-biodegradeables’ (or as technical nutrients in
the parlance of cradle-to-cradle). Over the course of time, ecobricks that are damaged
or ruptured are broken apart and put into a new Ecobrick. Rather than handing future
generations ecosystems that are cocktails of contamination we hand them a nutrient
cycle of useful, reusable, segregated building blocks. The linear flow of waste
transitions into a circle of utility.

“If we think about things having multiple lives, cradle to cradle, we could design things
that can go back to either nature or back to industry forever.” — William McDonough

Thirdly, Ecobricks are an imminently practical solution. Ecobricks are

demonstrably effective, zero-cost, viral and communal solution to communities in the
global south that are languishing in scattered solid waste. Ecobricking lets the
populace take control of their solid waste predicament. Unlike other recycling or up-
cycling techniques, no special skills, equipment or facilities are required to make
Ecobricks. In fact, Ecobricks are best made by the young and old, thus enabling the
majority of the community to take part. When implemented as a community solution,
ecobricking becomes an accepted, everyday, long term habit for citizens. Through
widespread collaboration plastics are put to use by communities for the communities.

Finally, because completed Ecobricks were made by many they, lend

themselves towards constructions that serve the community. Ecobricks have the
tendency to be used for building green spaces: parks, herb gardens, and food forest
(including coffee planters). In this way, Ecobricks both protect and enrich the futures of
our children and the surrounding species.
It is helpful to sum up with one of the most telling observations that we have noted in
our pilot communities. In these towns we have noted the disappearance of trash– both
on the streets and most significantly, the core concept of ‘trash‘. In truth it is this
problematic linear concept of ‘an object who’s value has been consumed‘ that is the root
of pollution. With Ecobricks, non-biogreadables that once had no further use or value
(i.e. trash), now become use-full and endowed with a new life– a life that inherently
contains the plan for future cycles. This transition from dead to alive, from worthless to
use-full, from linear to cyclical, is integral. It is a transition from the endemic linear
thinking of the current human world, to that of the cycles and circles that characterize
nature– or more aptly, the real world.(*4)

“A problem cannot be solved by the same consciousness that generated it.” –Albert
Einstein

EcoBricks prevent plastic waste from disrupting the ecosystem. Usually, when
thrown away, plastic breaks down into tiny pieces and contaminates the area where it
is. EcoBricks seal the plastic away preventing the buildup of toxic gases emitted during
the degradation of the plastic, such as methane. PET bottles are perfect for sealing
away the plastic because they have an incredible longevity and protect the contents
from UV rays. Ecobricking raises ecological consciousness. We often do not think about
the afterlife of our discarded plastic bottles. Ecobricking addresses our short-
sightedness, as making Ecobricks demands time and dedication, it leads to questions
on the uses of plastic. Ecobricks are a low energy solution to plastic. Recycling isn’t
necessarily the best solution since the facilities demand technology, funds and a
substantial amount of human energy. It also involves transportation and the waste can
travel around the world before reaching its destination only to end up in a saturated
recycling plant. EcoBricks don’t require all that fuss, with anyone having the ability to
make their own Ecobricks. It is a simple solution to a complex problem which can be
applied anywhere by everyone.