All about ecobricks

You might have noticed that a lot of plastic waste can’t be recycled. This means that it will usually end up either in a landfill, being burned (creating toxic gas) or in the ocean.

PROBLEM: DISPOSABLE PLASTIC —> SOLUTION: ECOBRICKS!

A great way to stop this happening, and put all that existing waste plastic to good use is to make ecobricks, or bottle bricks. All you need is an empty plastic bottle and as much non-biodegradable and non-recyclable* trash as you can find.

Collect things like plastic food packaging wrappers, foam, bags, straws and cellophane. They can be items you’ve used yourself, or litter you find on a cleanup. Things that can’t be used include food, metals, glass, paper, leaves or any natural materials.

If the packaging has food on it, you’ll need to wash and dry it first. Your empty bottle should also be clean and dry.

Then comes the fun part: stuff as much trash as you can into the bottle. You’ll need a stick or a kitchen tool with a strong wooden handle (a spoon or spatula is ideal, nothing sharp) to pack it all down. It’s amazing how much can go into one bottle! As a guide, a 500ml bottle should weigh around 175g when fully packed, and a larger 1.5l bottle will weigh around 500g.

When you really can’t squeeze any more in, your ecobrick should be ready. Do a final test – the bottle should be hard enough for you to stand on without collapsing. Check out the http://www.ecobricks.org website for ideas of what to do with your bricks, or see if there is a project near you that you can contribute to.

You can make everything from cool furniture to buildings!

Once you get the hang of it, you can start to experiment with coloured bricks (sort your plastic into different colours), or add harder plastics (ask an adult to cut trays and boxes up into small pieces) to make them more strong.

And remember to send us your photos so we can see all the awesome things you have made! Our email –> kids@trashhero.org

*Non-biodegradable means something that cannot break down naturally in the soil. For example, a banana peel is biodegradable, but a yoghurt pot is not. Non-recyclable means something that cannot be recycled. Most single use or “convenience” plastic cannot be recycled efficiently, but things like glass, paper and metal can all be recycled.

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