Eco-brick structure being introduced on local farm
Google image of a eco-brick structure being created.
A local farm could have its first eco-brick plant nursery by mid-November this year.
Manager at Tidal Roots Farm, Samantha Brown told BVI News the idea is to reduce the number of plastics that end up at local dumps.
She said the idea was borrowed from Guatemala, which currently boasts 38 schools created out of eco-bricks.
Effectively eco-bricks are bottles filled tightly with non-biodegradable plastic bags. Each brick is incorporated into a structure in an effort to turn trash into a resource.
According to Brown, she is hoping to get the entire British Virgin Islands to join in on her initiative.
“Since we have such a difficult time in recycling plastic, it is maybe a good solution. And if this works then other buildings could be made,” she said.
Let the sunlight in
Brown said there is another reason behind the undertaking. She said creating an eco-brick plant nursery will cause plants inside the nursery to get an increased amount of sunlight.
“The plastic bottles are going to take up the first four feet,” she said, adding that the remaining parts of the structure will be built with wire fencing and concrete to ensure a sturdy structure.
She is hoping to get at least 1,000 eco-bricks made with bottles smaller than a litre to get the nursery erected at the Belle Vue-based farm.
She has created 200 eco-bricks since starting the project one month ago.
Samantha Brown.
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Really Bad idea! Plastic emit fumes and take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose if at all. Much better to actually crush and recycle the plastic into re-usable items. And never build with these, please. There is NO structural strength in these plastic bottles compared to rebar! Just another bad idea by some gooder who thinks they know best……
Oh Kenneth, you really don’t get it…you are definitely don’t know best.
Im sure if it was harmful and poses any negative effect towards anyone/plant, they WOULDNT of DONE IT!
These are some Smart People, Your the Not So Smart one here !!!
This is done successfully all over the world. DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE TALKING SH*T AND MAKIMG A FOOL OF YOURSELF. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HELP THE BVI BESIDES CRY ON YOUR KEYBOARD?
Kwenneth u have no idea what kind of harm plastic does to the envirinment so please take all the seats. Plastic will outlast concrete_plastic is from oil-so one day it will run out-if it does not choke us in toxic fumes first. So-any person who seeks to reuse/cycle plastic waste should be commended-other places on earth plastic is used in place of bitumen on roads-but here u are throwing shade @ an individual who decides to view trash as a resource…
Dumb idea will look awful and won’t perform – just recycle properly rather than this pie in the sky nonsense that sounds good but is rubbish in reality
Its so easy to spot the trolls on these news articles…. ‘just recycle properly’ ‘much better to just crush and re-cycle the plastic’…. WHEN, WHERE AND HOW?! We are in the BVI, which is obviously not where you are … if you were here you would know that these options do not exist.
Lame excuse you can dispose of your plastic waste responsibly if you can be bothered which you clearly can’t – shame on you….
Does Guatemala get hurricanes? Noble idea; just the wrong location for this. Maybe for flooring but definitely not for the structural elements. Interior Finishes maybe, but plastics (bpa) are known carcinogens when burnt. What would the area look like when these are strewn across the landscape after a strong weather phenomenon? Maybe used for raised planting beds (don’t know if leaching of chems into earth long term would be an issue or not. Good idea bad location/usage.
Yes, Guatamala gets hurricanes. So does Nicaragua, Panama, FLORIDA, AND ALSO MICH OF THE PACIFIC (TYPHOONS). DO RESEARCH IN YOUR FREE TIME INSTEAD OF HATING. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HELP THE BVI?? Oh, right. You just hide behind a keyboard and complain like a child. SMH
True, the Eco-brick project can reduce the volume of waste taken to the landfill (extend its useful life), improve recycle and reuse of plastic, and reduce volume processed by the incinerator. Its use in the VI may be limited to fencing, landscaping………etc. I would not recommend it for use for schools, storage facilities, medical clinics……..etc It is a noble initiative but not a good option for VI due to its location in the hurricane belt.
Its structural elements offer little to no resistance to hurricane force winds. Even tropical force winds will decimate buildings constructed with the material. People should not be housed in these facilities during the passage of tropical systems; they provide a false economy and a sense of physical security. Any building constructed with this material probably will not meet and pass the minimum wind load requirement.
You clearly know absolutly nothing about ecobrickimg and how it gets used. KEEP BEING A HATER THOUGH.
BTW. It’s a plant nursery. NOBODY SAID ANYTHIMG ABOUT LIVING IN IT. WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TEAR DOWN OTHERS? MAYNE BECAUSE YOU ARE EMBARRASSED YOU HAVE NO IDEAS OF YOUR OWN, AND ALL YOU JAVE IS YOUR HATE