In today’s world where plastic use has become a dominant part of our lives, not many people are aware of the term ‘Ecobricking’. It is a new sustainable way to use plastic for a good cause. The process of making an eco brick takes disposable plastics that prove to be of no use in the future and treats them as a construction material. It is not an unknown fact that getting rid of plastic is very difficult and it usually ends up finding its way to sources of water like lakes or rivers and landfills. Sometimes to get rid of plastic people end up incinerating their waste which is exceedingly dangerous and harmful to the environment too. It releases harmful toxic chemicals directly into the atmosphere, thereby polluting it. Through eco-bricking, however, the environment is kept safe as they can successfully ban plastic from the biosphere besides using its durability as a means of building infrastructures.
My Ecobricking experience
This is a rather new idea and will need people, especially from a country like India, to be more accepting and active. When I shared the idea of making an eco brick with my family, they were particularly impressed. We collected all the plastic bottles and wrappers lying in and around the house and folded them to reduce their size. These comprised mostly of emptied salt packets, detergent packets, chips, chewing gums, candies, namkeens, so on and so forth. After folding the dry plastic waste, with the help of a wooden stick (to protect our hand from injuries) we pushed the waste one by one inside the bottle, using the wooden stick for compressing the plastic and making sure it’s tightly packed. We repeated this process until the bottle reached its brim. Since there are not many eco brick drop-offs in India, we decided to store them and give them away to a rag picker, if one happens to drop by. That would not only help us in getting rid of the waste but also support livelihood for the rag pickers to some extent. They could then sell these bottles and help these bottles is getting recycled or used in construction sectors.
This was just a headstart since spreading awareness is equally important. Convincing the rest of your family members and members of society is not an easy job and requires patience and persuasion. Since it’s an eco-friendly and inexpensive process, many people who share the same concern about the environment might show some interest. Sharing pictures of eco-bricks online and generating awareness may be considered as the first step towards a better and sustainable plastic-free future.
