Eco-Bricks
What is an Eco-brick?
An eco-brick is a plastic bottle packed with shredded, single-use, non-recyclable plastics, compressed to a required density to create a reusable building block. They are a sustainable way to reusenon-biodegradable plastic waste as they are regarded as a long-lasting and durable material.
Eco-bricks = a low energy solution to keeping plastic out of the ecosystem!
What is the purpose of an eco-brick?
Making an eco-brick can be a tedious and time-consuming project (but great to do whilst watching TV!) and the purpose of it is to make you responsible for your own plastic waste and encourage you to reduce your own consumption.
The aim is to help you cut down on what you’re buying and ultimately produce less waste whilst creating something beneficial for yourself or the community!
What goes into the eco-brick?
The most important thing about an eco-brick is that the contents are CLEAN and DRY before they get stuffed. The reason for this is to prevent any bacteria or mould forming inside, which will undo all your hard work as they will not be validated!
You can put inside an eco-brick:
Potato chip, biscuit, cake packets etc.
Stretchy plastic e.g., carrier bags, bread bags, clingfilm etc.
Pasta/rice packets
Packaging – bubble wrap/plastic envelopes
Styrofoam/polystyrene
Hard plastic – meat trays, flowerpots etc (however, hard plastics will need to be cut up into much smaller pieces than soft plastic to allow you to reach the weight requirements)
What can I make with an eco-brick?
The most common personal projects are footstools! They can be as small or as large as you want, you can be creative with the bottle bottom colours to make a cool pattern or cover them in some fabric to make a decorative piece around the house!
There are other smaller projects you can make, like doorstops for example! I am personally taking inspiration from this one found on Pinterest:
Ok, so how do I make one?
It is very simple! The picture below shows you how in 5 simple steps. The key is to just keep stuffing until you can’t any more! With time and patience, your brick will come to life.
Poll: Do you mind when neighbours leave freebies on the street?
Some spare wood, used furniture or children's toys - do you mind when your neighbours leave goods on the street for others to make use of?
Share your thoughts in the comments and poll below.
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83.8% It's fine!
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14.2% It annoys me!
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2% Other - I'll share below
Lost petrol cap
Has anyone picked up a petrol cap around papamoa mall/Pack ‘n’ save area.
Unfortunately it was left on top of car when driver drove off.
Here's another daily riddle for you!
I'm sometimes strong and sometimes weak,
But I am nobody's fool,
There is no language I cannot speak,
Though I never went to school
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
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