The shortage of low-cost homes and growing number of homeless people is a global challenge. Many charities and organizations, such as Eco-Tec, are finding alternative ways to save money as well as build sustainable homes out of recyclable plastic bottles.
The amount of time it takes for plastic to break down can surpass 500 years. One way to keep plastic containers out of landfills is to recycle them into well-insulated homes. Organizations can collect the bottles, including PET bottles for the walls and Tetra Pak boxes for the roof. There is a product called POLLI-Brick, which uses recycled plastic to make self-interlocking bricks. They are transparent and can be illuminated with internal LED lights. POLLI is particularly useful because it can be disassembled and reused in another location, which is a great solution for temporary housing and offices. The plastic material helps keep the structure insulated, warm, and soundproof. POLLI-Brick structures are built to withstand hurricane-force winds.
According to Time Magazine, 35 billion plastic water bottles are discarded every year in the United States. Many end up in landfills. Some are shipped overseas for recycling. The best option is to use these recyclable materials to help impoverished areas of the world or even right here in our own country.
Recycled bottles can be used to make walls, water tanks, schools, benches, homes, gates, greenhouses, or fences. The builder fills the bottles with sand and places them into an interlocking pattern. The bricks are then packed with mud or other binding agent, which can be covered with stucco finish.
To adapt homes for plumbing, PVC pipes are inserted inside the bottle walls. In Ecuador, people have used CD cases for windows and created furniture from PET bottles. In effort to recycle everything, one home builder made curtains from plastic bottle caps.
Visit Inspiration Green to find out more about their unique building services: http://www.inspirationgreen.com/plastic-bottle-homes.html
Misty Chase
Title Department Program Manager
mchase@banksinfo.com