People love making EcoBricks but the question is, what do you do with them once they are full? We started a list to help you know where to drop them off.
South Africa (02 October 2020) – Everyone has an EcoBrick or two sitting at home, waiting to be given to an organisation in need but nobody knows who these organisations are so we did a little digging and found a handful to share with you. We hope this list grows over time, especially as organisations are allowed to get back to changing the world again!
If you are not sure what an EcoBrick 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 landfill where they take up space and cause pollution.
What to put inside an EcoBrick
Filling an EcoBrick 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 EcoBricks 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. Please note this list is only valid for the year 2020.
Gauteng
- Khuthaza Foundation – Located in Diepsloot, Johannesburg – Facebook
- Roots & Shoots – Located in Gauteng – Facebook
- Wot-If? Trust – Located in Diepsloot, Johannesburg – Facebook
Western Cape
- Ecobrick Exchange – Located in Newlands, Cape Town – Facebook
As always, this is a working list so if we have missed anyone, please let us know in the comment section and we will add them to the list.
Sources: GTG
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