Plastic-Bottle Homes Are Popping Up Around the World

[eridani]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/12/10/plastic-bottle-homes

In the United States alone, 47 billion plastic bottles are discarded annually, and worldwide, enough plastic is thrown out in a single year to circle the globe four times. But a form of construction being used throughout Africa and Latin America is making a difference, not only by reducing plastic waste but also by taking advantage of the durability of plastic bottles to provide shelter for the homeless.

The “bottle wall technique,” developed by German firm Ecotec Environmental Solutions, has been training people in Nigeria, where 16 million people are homeless, to build homes out of plastic

The process is simple. Bottles are collected and filled with sand, then stacked on their sides and bound together with mud or a cement mix, creating solid walls. The structures are well insulated, incredibly strong (20 times stronger than brick), fire resistant, and even bulletproof. A typical two-bedroom home with a toilet, a kitchen, and a living room requires 14,000 plastic bottles and costs a quarter of what a conventional house would.

An increasing number of communities around the world are experimenting with the technology. An Ecotec house in Ecoparque El Zamorano, Honduras, was built with 8,000 bottles without using cement, and it supports a green roof that weighs up to 30 tons when wet. Ecotec plastic-bottle greenhouses, office partitions, sheds, benches, walls, and community centers are also popping up in Tokyo, the U.S., Europe, and South America.

[sue4e3]

1. 20 times stronger than brick), fire resistant, and even bulletproof. Absolutely amazing

[riversedge]

26. The fact that he had to add bulletproof blows my mind

[Jester Messiah]

2. Well, if they're going to be around forever without biodegrading, might as well use 'em! [nt]

[phantom power]

3. Seems like UV degradation of the plastic would be a serious problem.

[gregcrawford]

6. I think if the ends are plastered over...

... that risk would be eliminated. The house pictured looks pretty cool. I wonder, though, how such a structure would fare in the Northeast, or anywhere with temperature extremes, and the attendant expansion and contraction.

[brush]

10. Good question. I'd like to know that too.

[thereismore]

13. I think this has the same thermal properties as adobe. Those houses are cool in Summer and warm in

winter, but the walls need to be ~10'' thick or more.

[jmowreader]

17. The bottles are filled with sand so expansion and contraction should be no problem

[gregcrawford]

18. Makes sense...

... okay, I'm sold! I'll just burn down this drafty old 188-year-old farmhouse and start over again! Simple!

I wish...

[tclambert]

21. Bottles are polycarbonate. They can have UV resistance built in.

"Unmodified polycarbonate resins (Hydex® 4301, Lexan®, Makrolon®) will degrade upon exposure to sunlight. Polycarbonate will yellow and become hazy after 1 year of exposure. UV resistant grades are available."

Source: http://www.sdplastics.com/ultravioletresistance.html

I don't know if the typical 2-liter soft drink bottle has UV resistance. I can't recall seeing one turn yellow or hazy.

[Beartracks]

22. I thought they got brittle with UV and sunlight exposure...?

Maybe I'm thinking of some other kind of common plastic waste.

=================

[Thor_MN]

34. I don't know where you live, but virtually all soda and juice bottles are not polycarbonate

One can get expensive reusable bottles of polycarbonate, but what one finds on store shelves filled with beverages is PET or PETE, Polyethylene Terephthalate. One can recognize them by a triangle made of arrows (recycling symbol) with a 1 inside.

All plastics will eventually photodegrade, but the timeframe varies widely based on conditions and additives.

I would not care to live under a 3 ton green roof in a warm, humid, bright environment supported by bottles designed to use the minimal amount of material needed to transport beverages from bottling plant to market. At least without protecting the exposed ends from sunlight.

[Scuba]

4. I just decided how I'm going to build my steps and patio.

[fxgindhart]

5. Nothing new for beverage containers

During the Vietnam War, I saw many hovels covered with flattened beer and soda cans.

[MADem]

20. Beer bottle houses....

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/beer-bottle-houses

http://www.keough-art.com/our_story_anecdotes/anecdote_bottle_house.php

[fleur-de-lisa]

7. So cool . . .

They remind me of the Earthships in New Mexico . . .

http://earthship.com/

[libdem4life]

27. I love that place. Didn't they used to have the used tire homes? The filling of the tires with

dirt was the same. Seems to me the tires would be easier to collect and certainly build faster. But I'd take either one.

[fleur-de-lisa]

28. I think they use a variety of methods.

I know many of the structures employ the use of tires and glass bottles (I don't know about plastic). They try to make the homes as sustainable as possible, with vegetable gardens and thermal heat.

They offer 2 week courses where you learn to design and construct your own Earthship. I would love to do it sometime, but have never had the vacation time or extra money. I think it costs about $2,500 to attend.

If I ever win the lottey or inherit any money, my dream would be to learn how to build sustainable housing, such as Earthships, then go to different areas of the country to help people build them!

[libdem4life]

29. A bit on the high side for me, too, and just a single woman. It would take at least one other

equally committed person, a lot of time, land and money...they are not cheap.

[fleur-de-lisa]

30. I have read a lot about them and

they can be incredibly inexpensive, depending on how much of the work you do yourself. And if you decide to build within an established Earthship community, there are neighbors who will gladly help help you build.

Then when you add in the energy savings from low heating/cooling costs, and the fact that many of the building materials are recycled, they can be quite affordable. From what I have read, they can be as simple or as luxurious as your budget allows.

Now I just have to get off my ass
and commit to building one! I would love to move to Colorado or New Mecico to build one of these things. I am a single woman too. I just uprooted myself 5 years ago to move halfway across the country, where I had no friends or connections. I'm working up my courage to do it again!

[libdem4life]

31. Yeah, me too almost identical. 3 years here...I'll have to look into the community more. Last I

was in that space there were very few actually living there....I think they had just finished Dennis Weaver's home. Thanks for the heads up. Maybe they need a school teacher there????

[fleur-de-lisa]

32. I keep thinking the same thing . . .

what could I offer that others would view as valuable in a rural community? I'm good at growing things. Maybe I should become an expert at growing pot! But in my state, that would get me arrested. Still illegal in my Neanderthal state of Louisiana.

[libdem4life]

33. LOL...there might be lots of ex-hippies that live there. I was very interested in aquaponics

and such...cheap, renewable, love fish, and then water the gardens.

Growing food is like way up there on the skills list. It's not just a quick trip to WalMart for milk and eggs. I wanted to do chickens...a treasure trove of protein...either way. Such a shame so many of the idealistic communities over the years got sucked back into the system.

Just checked...Dancing Rabbit was one I really wanted to go to...check it out...

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/ This one started with almost nothing...and old converted school bus, as I recall. Pretty sure they planted smoking material there.

I almost forgot we're on a political site...they'll probably think we're nuts...well, I have some surfing to do now.

[nxylas]

8. How long before they're declared illegal?

Because TURRRSTS!

[homegirl]

9. Brilliant!

Only question is the footings and foundations. Would these buildings be weakened by heavy rains if the underpinnings are not adequate?

[hunter]

11. Grandma Prisbrey would approve.

https://www.gofundme.com/savebottlevillage

http://www.bottlevillage.com

[Tikki]

15. Yes, she would.

Tikki

[valerief]

12. As long as they're being produced, they might as well go to good use.

However, I hate that we use up so much fuel in shipping bottles of soda to consumers. And, of course, the oil industry gets even richer because the bottles are plastic. Same with bottles of shampoo/conditioner, laundry/diswashing detergent, liquid soap, and other plastic-encased shipped fluids. Even though the containers get recycled, do we need to ship so much heavy fluid?

[valerief]

24. Apparently, you didn't read my post. Aren't plastic bottles made from petrochemicals (oil industry)?

[AwakeAtLast]

16. Like discarded oil drums becoming musical instruments

Very creative!

[Goblor]

19. UV/environmental degradation?

I wonder about UV degradation. In all the wild-places I've worked, from sub-tropical and the Sonoran Desert/Dry coastal areas to the Antarctic, most plastic bottles I've come across eventually degrade and fracture easily due to exposure to the elements and UV rays. How is this accounted for with these constructions? Seems like a possible waste of effort if the bottle degrades fast under local environmental conditions. Any insights on this?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. Look at the picture. The final step is to coat the outside with stucco.