What are Eco Bricks?

Close your eyes and picture a traditional brick house. It’s probably brownish-red and complemented by wooden windows and doors. Now pictures a house made from eco bricks. Is your mind drawing a blank? Eco bricks aren’t commonly talked about, but they may be a clever solution to the world’s waste problem. Here’s what you need to know about them. 

What Are Eco Bricks?

Eco bricks are everyday PET plastic bottles stuffed with clean, dry plastic trash and used like traditional bricks. The bottles, now solid from being filled, are then stacked on top of each other like traditional bricks and sealed with concrete or clay (depending on what’s available in the region). 

Because plastic isn’t biodegradable, eco bricks are reusable and can be integrated into long-term and short-term building projects. 

Not only do eco bricks relieve our overwhelmed landfills from some waste, but they also protect our environment from absorbing the toxins and microplastics released by plastic bottles and trash. 

How to Make Your Own Eco Bricks

Because eco bricks are relatively simple by nature, you can easily make your own at home. 

To start, you will need to begin collecting, cleaning, and drying plastic waste. Examples of this include plastic bags, food packages, and styrofoam. Because eco bricks need to be tightly packed, you will probably end up using a lot more waste than you originally predicted, so the collection process may take a while!

For the brick part of your eco bricks, PET transparent plastic bottles are essential. The bottles should all be the same size (either 600ml or 1500ml) and easy to come by. You want all your bottles to match, so don’t choose to start collecting soda bottles, for example, if no one in your house drinks soda! 

To pack the bottle, grab a stick with a soft end and your “bottom color.” This can either be a colored plastic bag or a piece of trash. Your bottom color will help create a pattern once your eco bricks are assembled. 

Pack the bottle tightly, leaving 1-2 cm of space at the top. You want to be mindful of what trash you’re using. Ideally, there should be a mix of plastics in each eco brick. 

Now it’s time to cap and log your bottles. Each bottle should be labeled with the ecobricker’s name, the brick’s weight, the date it was made, and what project it is intended for. You can also give it a serial number using the GoBrik App. All this data should be recorded on the brick with a permanent material like enamel paint. 

Store your eco bricks horizontally until you have enough to start your building project! 

Controversies Surrounding Eco Bricks 

There are been some concerns regarding eco bricks. To start, because the bricks are made to sit outside, the “inorganic chemicals…may leech into the surrounding environment as the eco bricks are exposed to the sun.”

Eco bricks are also relatively time-consuming. While they may be a fun weekend activity for families looking to put their recycling to good use, they aren’t an efficient way to provide communities in need with shelter. 

Finally, eco bricks don’t address the real problem, which is producing and buying plastic. While there’s nothing wrong with making them, they aren’t going to slow down the manufacturing of virgin plastic bottles and packing. 

When All is Said and Done… 

Eco bricks are an innovative and interesting way to reduce the amount of plastic in landfills. Their circular design is environmentally conscious and easy to recreate at home or in communities with limited construction resources. While critics have voiced their concerns and opinions, it’s difficult to not appreciate how few real solutions we have to manage plastic waste. Perhaps eco bricks are one creative way of turning the endless piles of trash into sustainable sanctuaries.

Related Content:

• Wasteland Turned Wilderness: 5 Amazing Examples of Industrial Wastelands Giving Rise to Biodiverse Ecosystems
• Kenyan Woman Recycles Plastic into Bricks that are Stronger than Concrete!
• Microplastic Pollution in Soil is Threatening Human Health and Soil-Dwelling Organisms
• Over 14 Million Tons of Plastic is Sitting at the Bottom of the Ocean

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