This Sunday, the 22nd of April, people around the world will be celebrating Earth Day. Communities, schools, businesses, families and individuals will be rallying forces and partaking in projects that will help the earth and protect it from the pit of decay and destruction that it currently finds it self in (because of us). While the number of things you can do to care for our earth our countless (visit Hive account@steemiteducation for ideas and projects that you could get involved in), my contribution to this year’s Earth Day, is to become an active participant in the Ecobrick initiative.

Ecobrick communities are developing at a rapid pace and can be found in countries all over the world. I am very glad to say that my country, South Africa, has a strong following of Ecobrick builders! The idea behind an Ecobrick is to create building blocks that can be used over and over again, using plastic (a material that is currently choking our earth). This way, we can create green spaces that enrich the biosphere, instead of leaving plastic to fill our oceans, rivers and land, and become a harmful nuisance.

^{Me and my Ecobrick}

So, what is an Eco Brick Exactly?

An Eco Brick is a plastic bottle than has been filled with solid non-biological waste (plastic) that has been pressed and packed so tightly, that it adds substantial weight to the bottle and makes it almost as solid as a brick. These ‘bricks” are then used to build all sorts of things from furniture to even homes and schools!

These re-usable building blocks are an excellent way to utilise the plastic we have floating around the world.

Did you know?

Different kinds of plastic can degrade at different times, but the average time for a plastic bottle to completely degrade is at least 450 years. It can even take some bottles 1000 years to biodegrade! That’s a long time for even the smallest bottle. 90% of bottles aren’t even recycled. - https://www.postconsumers.com/2011/10/31/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic-bottle-to-biodegrade/

What Are Eco Bricks Used For?

Like I mentioned above, this outrageously cool way of recycling plastic has so many benefits. Communities around the world are packing and collecting Ecobricks to not only build furniture, parks and walls, but people are actually using them to build actual homes and schools too! WOW, right?

Ecobricks equip people to take a proactive stance and take plastic out of the industrial recycling system, which in turn keeps it out of the biosphere and saves energy.

When plastic is “recycled”, it re-enters a globally distributed industrial system that consumes large amounts of energy and relies on humans working in toxic conditions. In addition, all plastics that enter this system eventually find their way out, and into the biosphere. - https://www.ecobricks.org/

^{A school being built from Ecobricks in Guatemala. Image Source}

How Can You Make An Ecobrick?

Follow these very easy steps to make your own Ecobrick:

Select the plastic bottle/s you want to use. It’s best to stick to one type of bottle, so choose something that is easy to find in your community, that you could perhaps collect from neighbours too.
Prep your bottle by rinsing it and allowing it to dry thoroughly, cap included.
Add plastic waste to your bottle as it comes available to you. It is VERY important that the plastic you add to your bottle is clean and dry. Dirty plastic inside an Ecobrick will lead to microbiological growth and methane forming inside it, which will eventually cause your bottle to bloat and they will be rendered useless. NO biodegradable substances must be added to the bottle, so if there are any bits of paper on your plastic for instance, it must be removed.
Use a stick to push and press your plastic, so that you can fit as much of the waste into your bottle as you can. I have included a video below of how I have been packing my plastic. It’s best to cut plastic into smaller pieces, before squeezing it through the bottle opening, this way it is easier to pack, and you will fit so much more plastic into your bottle.
The aim is to get your bottle as full of plastic as possible. You want it to weigh a lot an be quite sturdy. The heavier your brick, the better! As you can see, my Ecobrick still has a way to go!
Write something sentimental on your brick, so that it is set in “stone”, forever.

Video by Hive account@sweetpea - packing my Ecobrick.

What do you do with your Ecobricks once they are done?

You can use these bricks for your own projects (there are so many cool ideas on the internet), or, you can look for a community project to donate them towards, which is what I am doing. I stumbled on to a site called ecobricks.org , here you can search for current projects that are seeking Ecobrick donations. There is also an AMAZING app that you can sign up to, where you get to log your bricks and see where they travel to. The app also gives you info on who else in your community is building bricks, and what they are doing with them.

I will be donating my bricks to the Briks for Good, and organisation that uses the bricks to develop schools and early childhood development centers around Cape Town South Africa.

Ecobrick building is a great opportunity to get your family, friends and students involved in caring for the environment. It’s easy to do (so much fun to do actually), and let’s face it, we ALL have packets full of plastic that we need to dispose of on a daily basis. Why not donate towards green living and get packing?

Here’s a picture of my son, concentrating very hard at snipping up his plastic to add to his brick, which he is super proud of!