Who would have thought that a pile of unused plastic and waste could be the key to a new kind of reusable construction. They’re called Ecobricks, which are plastic bottles reinforced and stuffed with trash.
The “bricks,” when placed together, form a sturdy support system that can be used in various forms of construction, like insulation. They were first used in Guatemala roughly 30 years ago as a way of recycling trash, Now This reported.
Peter McIntosh, founder of Natural Building Collective stated that “Ecobricks have been used in every fashion you can imagine, and what’s nice about the testing phase here, is that we will be able to provide data to people all over the world to make more rational choices about how they use Ecobricks.”
According to Now This, South African NGO Waste-ED has been testing the Ecobricks to see how well they hold up under various climate conditions. The “bricks” have been used in walls of different materials, from mud to cement.
But the people behind Ecobricks say this is just a temporary solution to the global trash problem.
In 2017, South Africa produced roughly 48 million tons of waste, but only 11% of that was actually recycled, Reuters reported.
