Eco Bricks – One man’s trash is another’s building block

Acclaimed historian, explorer and activist, Robert Swan once said, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

As inhabitants of this planet, each person needs to play an active role in saving it.

The recent floods along the eastern coast of South Africa, revealed the alarming intensity and magnitude of the pollution and waste, which many believe will inevitably destroy our ecosystem.
This revelation has inspired many campaigns to be active in cleaning up the affected areas.

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Once collected however, the waste has to go somewhere and that destination is usually the dumpsites and landfills, where items such as plastic waste take hundreds of years to break down, leaching toxins into the soil.

What if there was a way to recycle this waste though? What if there was a way to repurpose discarded plastic into something significantly more useful; a way to make a difference in the war on plastic, regardless of age, race, gender or social status?

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Bruce and Sandi Cronk, known for their work at the Wild Animal Trauma Centre and Haven (WATCH) in Zaailaagte, have the objective to rehabilitate orphaned and abandoned vervet monkeys and release them back into the wild.
Once healthy, these monkeys return to their natural habitat and live long happy lives, away from humans.

“For the past few years, we have been trying to raise funds to build a much needed baby enclosure for our orphaned baby vervets,” says Sandi. “Fundraising is slow and the donations we do receive are absorbed by feeding, medical and basic animal husbandry costs. We had to look for an alternative for our required enclosure, and then we found the concept of Ecobricks.”

Ecobricks is a revolutionary way of turning garbage into literal building blocks.

The process of creating an Ecobrick involves filling a two-litre plastic cooldrink bottle with unrecyclable plastic pieces, and once compressed, the end product is able to withstand the weight of an adult without denting or buckling.

This plastic Ecobrick is now as solid as a regular brick.

“It is amazing just how much plastic waste can condense into one empty two-litre plastic cooldrink bottle,” elaborates Sandi. “We soon realised if we did this on our own, the baby enclosure would take another couple of years to materialise. We need help in making and collecting Ecobricks and decided to enlist the help of two schools in our area”

The Cronks approached Michaelis Private School and Nardini Primary School first, as for the past few years, learners have made annual visits to the centre to learn about monkey rehabilitation.

“We were delighted when both schools agreed to collaborate with us on this project, and to help us see our dream enclosure become reality. This project also goes further than just an enclosure to be built. We hope to teach young children about the value of recycling and keeping non-biodegradable waste off our school grounds and ultimately off the municipal dumping ground.”

Sandi is optimistic this is only a small beginning step.

“Through this project, we hope to instill the habit of recycling and being aware of being kind to the environment, in learners and their parents.”

Once the Cronks reach their target of 1 500 two-litre bottles, they hope to continue the project and help other organisations benefit from Ecobrick builds.

“Although we have partnered with Michaelis and Nardini, we welcome the involvement of any other schools and would love to see many more people collecting Ecobricks.”

Sandi invites those interested to contact her on 083 635 5497.

The Vryheid Herald has also partnered in this community project, providing a drop-off point for those wishing to contribute their own plastic-filled bottles for the building of the enclosure.

Drop off Ecobricks at 183 Heeren Street, on weekdays from 8am to 4pm and Fridays until 1pm.

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