Ecobricking: Time To Start Packing Up Your Plastic!

Ecobricking is exactly what it sounds like - a brick for ecological purposes.

What Are Ecobricks?

Making ecobricks is an easy way to take responsibility from the comfort of your home. It is a way of keeping your plastics from entering the biosphere. An ecobrick is any type of plastic container or bottle that is tightly packed with smaller used plastic items, creating reusable building blocks.

Why Should I Package My Plastics?

When plastics are thrown away, they break down into tiny microplastics that contaminate our lands and waters. These plastics are harmful to anything that lives and breathes, including us. If we prevent these plastics from entering our ecosystems, we have a greater chance of slowing the plastic pollution crisis.

Ecobricks are an amazing way to recycle these plastics that break down, but they are more than just “bricks of plastic”.

4 Ways Ecobricks Are Beneficial:

1. The durability and longevity of plastics make them a great building block

2. They encourage us to reduce and reuse our plastic waste

3. Ecobricks prevent plastic from being incinerated and releasing CO2 from entering our atmosphere

4. They turn something negative into a positive impact on our environment and communities

How Can I Make My Ecobrick?

Now that you know why ecobricks are beneficial to our environment, let’s show you how to make one! Don’t worry, it’s a lot easier than you think and all the materials that you need are right in front of you!

1. Grab any plastic bottle that you have used

2. Collect any clean and dry household waste and pack it into your bottle - make sure the plastics are non-biodegradables

3. Pack the bottle with soft plastics at the bottom to make sure you get all knicks and crannies

4. Twist and reshape your waste and insert it into the plastic bottle, use a stick to compress that waste as tightly as you can

5. Keep adding plastics until the bottle is no longer squishable with one hand

6. When it’s no longer squishable, your ecobrick is complete! Good job!

And there you have it! Everything you need to know about ecobricking and why you should implement it into your day-to-day lives!

Want to share your ecobricking experience with us? Simply send us your progress and pictures to @onepieceaday1 on Instagram! We look forward to seeing what you are doing for our planet!