Daily hacks: How to make ecobricks, banana peel fertilizer and loofah sponges

Anyone who has ever dabbled in the art of DIY to help reduce waste or eliminate chemicals from their day-to-day products will undoubtedly find it hard to resist the temptation to proudly show off their work.

Indeed, making a product with your own hands – whether it’s clothing, laundry detergent or deodorant – is often a source of great satisfaction.

ALSO READ: Daily hacks: Tips on how to refinish wood and whitewash it

And what better way to show off your creations than on social media? A trend that has not escaped TikTok.

Now, the UK-based price comparison service Uswitch has drawn up a list of the social network’s “most popular eco hacks.”

This ranking is based on hundreds of videos published on the platform with the hashtag #ecohack.

These are the three most popular eco hacks videos:

Using waste plastic to make ecobricks

Making plastic ecobricks involves using old plastic water bottles and transforming them into insulation or building materials. It’s a concept that’s very popular on TikTok, since videos about making DIY ecobricks score no less than 19 million views!

@mirrored_mind_design Making an Ecobrick ♻️???????? #CreativeRecycling #ecobricks #Art #Artist #ArtistAtWork #ReuseRecycle #Recycle #upcycling #Reuse #PlasticBottle ♬ original sound – Lindsey Stirling

Making natural fertilizer from banana peel

From magnesium and potassium to iron, banana peels are full of nutrients. And it’s precisely for this reason that they make fabulous fertilizers – a tip that TikTokers have happily seized upon (8.3 million views). The trick is to immerse a banana peel in water for several days to extract all the nutrients. Once the peel has macerated, the water is collected and used to nourish plants.  

@thenovicehomesteader BANANA WATER = All natural plant fertilizer ???????????? #learnontiktok #tiktokpartner #plantmom #gardening101 #gogreen ♬ Dancing in the Kitchen – The Werewolves

Grow your own loofah sponge

Make your own sponge? This is possible by planting seeds to grow a luffa gourd, a kind of Asian squash. Once grown, you need to recover its flesh (by removing the seeds and the pulp beforehand), boil it and then dry it to obtain a 100% natural, plant-based sponge. With 3.5 million views, making your own loofah sponge is the third most popular eco hack on the social network.

@757gardenvibes Growing loofah sponges #loofah #luffa #gourd #luffasponge #loofahtiktok #gardening #gardentok #backyardgarden #homegrown #veggiegarden #gardening101 ♬ The Git Up (feat. Ciara) [Remix] – Blanco Brown

Uswich also listed the top three eco-friendly products on TikTok:

1. Menstrual cups
2. Natural deodorants
3. Beeswax wraps