Man Builds Homes Out Of Plastic Bottles And They Look Just Like Regular Houses
There are so many wonderful initiatives around the world that people are taking in order to stop the catastrophic environmental effect we have on this planet, from animal extinction to water and air pollution, we have definitely made a huge mess on this planet and it’s important to find new and creative ways to stop and restore the damage that has been done. So, there is no surprise that once somebody comes up with a great eco-friendly idea, it is up to encourage it and support it.
More info: Plastic Bottle Village
One day, Canadian entrepreneur Robert Bezeau got tired of the plastic bottles laying everywhere so he decided to create a new way of reusing them
So, he moved to Bocas del Toro, Panama where he started creating the Plastic Bottle Village. The main goal of this village is to reduce plastic waste that pollutes our landfills and bring this used plastic back to life by incorporating them in construction.
In his public message, Robert states:
“I want the world to realize that we can reuse plastic bottles in many other applications such as:
1. Home insulation
2. Rapid temporary shelters after disasters
3. Buildings for animal’s on farms
4. Building swimming pools
5. Water catchment tanks
6. Septic tanks
7. Agriculture waterways (land drainage)
8. Commercial warehouse construction
9. Barns
10. Roads”
What might not look so pretty during the construction, actually ends up looking like a beautiful house that many of us would love to live in
But building homes is not the only thing this initiative is interested in, their main goal is to raise awareness about the tragic state our planet is in and the importance of reducing plastic waste. Their website also analyzes the history of the plastic waste around the world and what events throughout history had the biggest impact on the plastic bottle pollution that we are currently facing.
“1978: Coca-Cola and Pepsi, introduced the first 2l PET plastic bottles to the World.
We all thought back then that was fantastic, and the greatest invention. You could drop the bottles, re-open them many times, perfect for pick-nick box, etc.
What we did not think about was that the bottlers were going from a returnable glass bottle with consignment, to a non-returnable plastic bottle without consignment.
The bottlers transferred their responsibilities to recycle to us humans of the World. They did not need to pick-up the empties any more, and bring them back to the factory. One way only, WOW what a reduction in cost, and more profits.”
Their website also offers some before and after shots of the home
In fact, everybody can buy a piece of land and build a house on the island. According to the website, the land costs around $19,000 and the architects are ready to build the home of your dreams there.
It takes around 14,000 plastic bottles to build one 100 square metre house in the village
“We will be living inside what we have consumed and thrown away, and will
re-construct those materials into modern, stylish, and quality built residencies. The homes are also earthquake resistant, and very cool in temperature, so there is no need for air conditioning. This will aid in conserving energy for The Village, which is a solar friendly community.
The village also states that the houses are energy saving since the temperature difference between the outside and the inside wall of a plastic bottle home is around 35F cooler, so there is no need for air-conditioning.
“The disadvantage of living on an island, is that all the consumer goods that arrive by FERRY on the island are packaged into plastic. The goods are consumed, and the plastic packaging stay trapped on the island. NEVER YOU SEE THE FERRY RETURN WITH PLASTIC.”
“This island receives more than 100,000 visitors per year that stay on average 5 days. You now have 500,000 visitor days. If each visitor consumes only two drinks a day, you have 1 MILLION plastic bottles a year left behind on a small island.”
The plastic village also offers a stay at the Plastic Castle
The main idea behind the castle is to inspire others to understand how much plastic surround us every day and to encourage people to use less of it or at least reuse it mindfully.
It took 2 years to finish the castle, it has four levels and is built using 40,000 PET bottles.
It took 2 years to finish the castle, it has four levels and is built using 40,000 PET bottles.
There are two guest rooms in the castle and one royal suite, there is also a dining bar as well as a dining area and a gathering level with a fantastic view.
There is also a plastic bottle “jail” that you can visit and educate yourself on the terrible impact our actions have on the planet
Visiting the “jail” aims to encourage people to help the planet as well as educate young children on the importance of environmental issues.
Although crimes against the planet due to plastic bottle waste is very real, The Dungeon is a fun vacation place where one can become part of the pollution solution by ‘jailing yourself’ for these crimes.
Castle Inspiration offers a unique opportunity to sleep in a jail cell where you have the key. Combining the need for a more earth-friendly existence with a humorous twist on the consequences of ones actions. A stay at The Dungeon presents the opportunity to become more aware of the growing plastic problem while having a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
In fact, this is not the only place people use plastic bottles for a good cause
Image credits: UNHCR
According to the UNHCR, in the remote desert of southwest Algeria, a young refugee is filling used plastic bottles and building shelters that better withstand the harsh climate. The idea of using plastic bottles as a material to use for construction is spreading across the world as it is not only cheap it also solves a huge pollution problem.
42Kviews
Share on FacebookThe Very Best Thing To Do With Plastic Bottles Is To Not Buy Them In THe First Place. The second best is to reuse them. We need to act NOW!
Agreed, however, we need to also address the amount of plastic waste and reuse it as much as possible.
Load More Replies...This is such a novel idea! There's less plastic waste to pile up and housing is in high demand. Killing two birds with one stone!
I'm divided : Do we know if the bottles emit toxic substances during their long life ? If this is the case, does this house healthy ?
As a firefighter, this concerns me. The chemicals used in these bottles are "safe" to use in bottles to drink out of, but once it burns, there is no telling what it does to the body (specifically the respiratory system). It's a good idea in theory, but not the best choice for the safety and health of the inhabitants and the firefighters.
Load More Replies...As a firefighter, this concerns me. The chemicals used in these bottles are "safe" to use in bottles to drink out of, but once it burns, there is no telling what it does to the body (specifically the respiratory system). It's a good idea in theory, but not the best choice for the safety and health of the inhabitants and the firefighters.
Would filling the bottles with water before placing in the walls make the house work like an igloo? Or perhaps they can fill the bottles with some better form of liquid insulation. I think some development and planning could help this work in almost any climate
Load More Replies...Well, I think te idea is okay. But I find the current tittle of this article very misleading. The houses, at least as shown in the pictures, are houses made of metal or of concrete, with walls FILLED WITH bottles, not MADE OF bottles. Those bottles may or may not be inside the walls, the houses will exist anyways. And yes, they look great (I mean the houses), because of the great furniture and stuff, and mainly because bottles don't show up anywhere, so...
Surely you didn't expect a house made of only plastic bottles...it would be a waste because it wouldn't be liveable
Load More Replies...Reduce - Reuse - Recycle. With the emphasis on REDUCE.
Load More Replies...I wish to learn how to reuse plastic bottles in building houses in Kenya.
We get 10 eurocents for each bottle, so you cannot find them in waste :)
Wow...had no idea people were so lazy they couldn't even be bothered to recycle their bottles
Its better than they are littering, but shouldn´t the first option be to recycle them? In many countries in Europe PETbottles comes with pant which gives you a small amount of money back when you put it to recycling at PETrecyclings where they get remade into new bottles.
he rendered them in concrete? other logistics? plumbing, electricity, frame? fire hazards? are the bottles cleaned before use as building material (risk of dangerous mould build up)? do the bottles lose structural integrity after some time? what are the inner walls and doors made of? would this encourage more use of plastic bottles? great for the remaining plastic but why not work on plastic bottle alternatives ? (organic materials, bamboo etc)
Wait if theres fire inside wall. Wouldnt it be great disaster
Load More Replies...I'd much rather have some rooms in the house act as full-room ambient lighting, from not covering up the bottles, but I'm not sure what they could be sealed together with that would allow for that.
Great idea, glad to read they are earthquake resistant. Would like to know their wild fire rating.
No you don't, plastic burns like an bat out of .......
Load More Replies...Maybe it’s time we designed the bottles for second use applications. Maybe it would make it easier to sort and use specific bottles for specific applications. Or are we doing that already
The Very Best Thing To Do With Plastic Bottles Is To Not Buy Them In THe First Place. The second best is to reuse them. We need to act NOW!
Agreed, however, we need to also address the amount of plastic waste and reuse it as much as possible.
Load More Replies...This is such a novel idea! There's less plastic waste to pile up and housing is in high demand. Killing two birds with one stone!
I'm divided : Do we know if the bottles emit toxic substances during their long life ? If this is the case, does this house healthy ?
As a firefighter, this concerns me. The chemicals used in these bottles are "safe" to use in bottles to drink out of, but once it burns, there is no telling what it does to the body (specifically the respiratory system). It's a good idea in theory, but not the best choice for the safety and health of the inhabitants and the firefighters.
Load More Replies...As a firefighter, this concerns me. The chemicals used in these bottles are "safe" to use in bottles to drink out of, but once it burns, there is no telling what it does to the body (specifically the respiratory system). It's a good idea in theory, but not the best choice for the safety and health of the inhabitants and the firefighters.
Would filling the bottles with water before placing in the walls make the house work like an igloo? Or perhaps they can fill the bottles with some better form of liquid insulation. I think some development and planning could help this work in almost any climate
Load More Replies...Well, I think te idea is okay. But I find the current tittle of this article very misleading. The houses, at least as shown in the pictures, are houses made of metal or of concrete, with walls FILLED WITH bottles, not MADE OF bottles. Those bottles may or may not be inside the walls, the houses will exist anyways. And yes, they look great (I mean the houses), because of the great furniture and stuff, and mainly because bottles don't show up anywhere, so...
Surely you didn't expect a house made of only plastic bottles...it would be a waste because it wouldn't be liveable
Load More Replies...Reduce - Reuse - Recycle. With the emphasis on REDUCE.
Load More Replies...I wish to learn how to reuse plastic bottles in building houses in Kenya.
We get 10 eurocents for each bottle, so you cannot find them in waste :)
Wow...had no idea people were so lazy they couldn't even be bothered to recycle their bottles
Its better than they are littering, but shouldn´t the first option be to recycle them? In many countries in Europe PETbottles comes with pant which gives you a small amount of money back when you put it to recycling at PETrecyclings where they get remade into new bottles.
he rendered them in concrete? other logistics? plumbing, electricity, frame? fire hazards? are the bottles cleaned before use as building material (risk of dangerous mould build up)? do the bottles lose structural integrity after some time? what are the inner walls and doors made of? would this encourage more use of plastic bottles? great for the remaining plastic but why not work on plastic bottle alternatives ? (organic materials, bamboo etc)
Wait if theres fire inside wall. Wouldnt it be great disaster
Load More Replies...I'd much rather have some rooms in the house act as full-room ambient lighting, from not covering up the bottles, but I'm not sure what they could be sealed together with that would allow for that.
Great idea, glad to read they are earthquake resistant. Would like to know their wild fire rating.
No you don't, plastic burns like an bat out of .......
Load More Replies...Maybe it’s time we designed the bottles for second use applications. Maybe it would make it easier to sort and use specific bottles for specific applications. Or are we doing that already
267
41