Eco-bricks have a habit of stacking up but the good news is, we know where you can go and donate them for use in good causes.
South Africa (04 February 2022) – Everyone has an eco-brick or two sitting at home, waiting to be given to an organisation in need but nobody knows who these organisations are. We started the annual list in 2020, sharing a handful of organisations. In 2021, the list shrunk slightly but we have kept digging and these are the organisations we found in 2022.
If you are not sure what an eco-brick is? It is a 2lt plastic bottle that has been filled with cleaned plastics that are not able to be recycled. This helps keep these plastics out of water sources and landfills where they take up space and cause pollution.
What to put inside an Eco-Brick?
Filling an eco-brick is really easy. Just put every bit of plastic that is non-recyclable into it. Here are some examples of things to put in your brick(s).
- Plastic Straws
- Plastic Wrap
- Chip Packets
- Plastic from Earbuds
- Old Toothbrushes
- Cellophane
- Old Balloons
- Polystyrene (cut it smaller before attempting to stuff the bottle)
- Plastic Cutlery
Your eco-brick needs to weigh more than 500g or be dense enough that it doesn’t buckle under your weight. All the bits stuffed inside need to be cleaned and dry before being placed in the bottle.
How to fill your eco-brick?
- Identify materials that are not compostable or recyclable by your local recycling facility
- Clean any dirty items by using leftover dishwashing water and leave to dry
- Stuff your clean and dry materials into any size or shape plastic bottle
- Compress it as tightly as you can with a stick – NB, this is very important!
- Keep doing this until you’ve got a bottle that is as hard as a brick – we will be squeezing your eco-brick to make sure it’s properly packed! If we can squeeze it, we can’t accept it.
- Set yourself goals to phase out these items until you don’t need to use the eco-brick anymore!
If you have eco-bricks to donate, you can take a look at all the places we have found below. Please reach out to the organisation directly to arrange delivery or collection. We have provided helpful links so you can reach them directly.
You can donate to the following confirmed places. These are the only places that we have found that have consented to the sharing of their information. Should your organisation not be listed, kindly email us here and we will update the list.
The Natural Building Collective – Cape Town
The Natural Building Collective created incredible buildings out of old tyres, glass bottles, eco-bricks and reclaimed materials. They welcome donations of eco-bricks but they must adhere to the standards above. You can reach out via Facebook / Website
Khuthaza Foundation – Gauteng
The Khuthaza Foundation has several drop-off points around Gauteng, these can be found via their website here. You will see addresses in Edenvale, Germiston, Centurion, Springs, Greenstone, Randburg, and Tembisa. The organisation also allows people to register as a drop-off point.
BluSwirl Recycling and Waste Management – Centurion
BluSwirl is collecting EcoBricks on behalf of NPOs so should you be an organisation in need of EcoBricks, you can reach out to Anton via email here.
Address: 136 Van Tonder Street, Sunderland Ridge, Centurion
Website: https://www.bluswirl.co.za
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