Clean up the World
In the West we are so used to the rubbish man coming along and "taking away" all of our unwanted rubbish. But where is away?
What happens if there is no rubbish man?
You burn it
You throw it
You leave it
Unfortunatly none of these are an answer to the problem.
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 | Rubbish is creating a huge global problem. Millions of square miles in the ocean is full of it, animals, dolphins, turtles etc are dying from eating it and we continue to throw it away without thinking.
Recycling is another controversial subject. It is transported often long distances, even overseas to energy intensive factories to be turned into something else.
In the majority world there is little recycling and there seems to be no solution.
BUT there is...... |
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BUILD WITH IT.
Around the world people have started building homes, schools and all sorts of other buildings made out of bottles and tin cans. |  |
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 | In Ecuador there is a huge problem with plastic rubbish so I have started some new projects. The Committee of Human Rights is building a workshop space and the ecological trail on the Playa del Chiparo at the side of the Aguarico River is building an info centre.
These will be the first demonstration buildings in Ecuador to inspire people to start collecting their bottles and filling them with rubbish ready to build with them just like cement blocks. |
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Building walls with the bottles is a great way of closing the circle. Painting with murals brings education to the projects as well. Leaving a small window shows that this wall is not what it appears but is in fact built with plastic bottles.
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 | I coordinated the building of 3 small food outlets for a community in Ecuador out of bottles filled with rubbish. An ecological day was organised where the schools, colleges and government could come to learn. A competition encouraged everyone to bring bottles and clean up their neighborhood. This event showed how this fantastic practical low cost solution can turn rubbish into a resource. |
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Off of Bali is a small island called Gilli Air. They still have no cars or motorbikes and life is so peaceful. Their biggest problem is rubbish, some they ship off to recycle the rest is burnt.
I visited the local school where in one day 340 large bottles were collected filled with rubbish. They are starting with a wall and then looking to build a new school.
The beach was cleaned and every one was very excited about returning this paradise island to how it once was, free of plastic. |  |
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 | Giving talks to the villages in Cambodia about a solution to their rubbish problem. This entails meetings with the village chief followed by presentations to the whole village. With a translator and support from a local school we used a small generator, screen and projector to give a slideshow.
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| This is an example of the promotional material used to encourage the collection of bottles in tourist areas near Angkor Wat. |  |
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 | Translator and guide Prokrotey Khoy coordinated the project with the assistance of HUSK Cambodia. |
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| The health center completed using the villages rubbish. A beautiful design on the side shows what the building is made from. |  |
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Step by step how to build a bottle house.... |
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What to put in the bottles....
Anything inorganic.....plastic bags, batteries, straws, packaging, even plastic cups, forks, spoons etc which appear too large to enter the bottle top can be cut with scissors and entered. Using a stick to poke it all in a huge amount can be compressed into the bottle until it is hard.....like a brick. |  |
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 | If you are interested in spreading the word and helping show others how to clean up the environment and build with rubbish Pura Vida have an excellent manual that can be downloaded for free. (It is currently only available in Spanish)
www.puravidaatitlan.org/manual-virtual.html |
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The Advantages of Eco Bricks
Please click on pictures to enlarge.. |  |
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 | Some great examples of what can be achieved with just using bottles as bricks.
   
Please help me spread the word and bring this practical solution to the world. |
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