Bamboo Shoot Foundation, an NGO based in the province of Siem Reap has started to transform plastic waste into bricks being used as construction materials to lessen the pollution and damages brought by plastics thrown into the Tonle Sap lake. Sea Sophal, director of the foundation, calls the initiative “Tonle Sap Green Brick”.

 

“Our project is to produce floor bricks for our community school, the Kampong Khleang high school. We add about 25 percent of shredded plastic to sand and cement to make the brick,” he said. Bamboo Shoot Foundation currently has only one shredding machine which shreds plastics collected from the villagers. After the mixing process, the team dries the bricks and sends them to the community school where 40 volunteers composed of teachers and students called “Kampong Khleang Plastic Warriors” will lay floors with the bricks.

 

The initiative started in 2018 when the Water Falling and Water Rising Festivals partnered with Ocean Recovery Alliance to create growing engagement with the local villagers and fishermen. According to Sophal, they created the first the programme “Harvesting Plastic”, incorporating the use of special ‘Plastic Only Bags’ for recycling, designed in both Khmer and English, and given to thousands of households along the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap province.

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50801647/plastic-transformed-into-green-bricks/

Lets hope thay are successful in this, then can possibly begin to clean up asia in general

Wonder if the bricks have a fire retardant in them.

 

 

How much energy is used to take average plastic waste and convert into bricks? Is it cost effective? Or is this adding more C02 to the atmosphere?

 

For a long time, plastic has been used (err, recycled) to make other products, including planks for park benches, but this is a gimmick. The cost of doing such conversions is prohibitive, other than for scoring PR points.

 

The plastic industry needs to be held accountable for collecting (and recycling?) their product. The task of recycling should not be passed onto the consumer.

 

P.S. Similar to Thailand, my local community has also come down on the distribution of plastic bags at the supermarket. But rather than ban them outright, a $0.05 (1.5 Baht) surcharge is assessed for each bag used. Not much of an incentive to stop using plastic.

It's actually worth reading the article. Seems like a brilliant way to get rid of plastic. They shred it and add to concrete - 25%. And it seems they have a trade plastic for rice scheme going on to get people to collect it. Hope the idea spreads.

"Plastic transformed into green bricks"

only green, no red bricks? 

 

i do like this, its pretty simple
but i still do prefer the one initiative in SA
where the water bottles are shaped so they interlock
so they can later be used as bricks (filled with dirt or empty)
although design could probably improved on quite a bit to make the wall stronger

https://www.kirstywattsfoundation.org.za/fundraising/bottle-to-build/

On 1/9/2021 at 2:56 AM, Gumballl said:

How much energy is used to take average plastic waste and convert into bricks? Is it cost effective? Or is this adding more C02 to the atmosphere?

 

For a long time, plastic has been used (err, recycled) to make other products, including planks for park benches, but this is a gimmick. The cost of doing such conversions is prohibitive, other than for scoring PR points.

 

The plastic industry needs to be held accountable for collecting (and recycling?) their product. The task of recycling should not be passed onto the consumer.

 

P.S. Similar to Thailand, my local community has also come down on the distribution of plastic bags at the supermarket. But rather than ban them outright, a $0.05 (1.5 Baht) surcharge is assessed for each bag used. Not much of an incentive to stop using plastic.

There you go, is it cost effective ! That is the point on how all works, profit, money and not caring about environment.

You wind up about CO2, but think about the plastic everywhere. Killing lots of animals in sea, in sky, on land.

The oceans are a part of the world eco system and all living creatures in it, also in CO2 emissions, we destroy it.

 

Micro plastic is already found in food, in animals, in ...humans. We dig our own grave, as the micro plastic blocks your veins at one time, You just die. Problem solved then?

8000000 TONS of plastic EVERY year in oceans and now they trying to get it out again with new invented machines. Are you kidding me?

Who is F**** responsible for that?! Can you imagine such an amount of plastic?!

Islands of plastic in the oceans as big as the size of Texas!

You get it? I dont.

They can make bio plastic which breaks down easily, They use it? , no as the other plastic is way more cheaper and as company you want...profit. Then you should force all companies to use. Ban oil plastic.

 

Good now China and other Asian countries put a ban on importing waste plastic. Now maybe "developed" countries have to find the way to get rit of the plastic them selves. Again has to do with profit , money.

Can you imagine, it is cheaper to send containers full of waste plastic to Asian countries, then to do something about it yourself. What they are going to do now? Dump more plastic in the oceans?

Why should we then care about CO2 or NO emissions in the air? Doesnt make sense, USA , China dont care and probably India upcoming economical country neither. Long live NATO.

 

You ever saw the movies of ships being demolished? They just do it on a beach, bare footed people  just do it.

No protection what so ever for them or environment, low money, but of course profit for employer.

Oil running into the sea and of course remains of cargo, like chemicals or what ever is in it.

You better have it done in a country which dont care about environment, cheaper.

 

They spend billions on a machine just to see a Higgsboson particle, but forget about plastic particles.

You get it? I dont.

Red an article once, in Harvard university they found accidentally a way to  transform CO2 to methanol in a relative cheap way. They were not even looking for that. Where is the invention now? Bought and put on a shelf?

Many very good ideas are bought by big companies and just stored, doing nothing.

Why .... money, profit on existing systems and the idea is threatening for companies.

In  few years we will go to Mars and we will start allover again.

 

 

20 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said:

There you go, is it cost effective ! That is the point on how all works, profit, money and not caring about environment.

You wind up about CO2, but think about the plastic everywhere. Killing lots of animals in sea, in sky, on land.

The oceans are a part of the world eco system and all living creatures in it, also in CO2 emissions, we destroy it.

 

Micro plastic is already found in food, in animals, in ...humans. We dig our own grave, as the micro plastic blocks your veins at one time, You just die. Problem solved then?

8000000 TONS of plastic EVERY year in oceans and now they trying to get it out again with new invented machines. Are you kidding me?

Who is F**** responsible for that?! Can you imagine such an amount of plastic?!

Islands of plastic in the oceans as big as the size of Texas!

You get it? I dont.

They can make bio plastic which breaks down easily, They use it? , no as the other plastic is way more cheaper and as company you want...profit. Then you should force all companies to use. Ban oil plastic.

 

Good now China and other Asian countries put a ban on importing waste plastic. Now maybe "developed" countries have to find the way to get rit of the plastic them selves. Again has to do with profit , money.

Can you imagine, it is cheaper to send containers full of waste plastic to Asian countries, then to do something about it yourself. What they are going to do now? Dump more plastic in the oceans?

Why should we then care about CO2 or NO emissions in the air? Doesnt make sense, USA , China dont care and probably India upcoming economical country neither. Long live NATO.

 

You ever saw the movies of ships being demolished? They just do it on a beach, bare footed people  just do it.

No protection what so ever for them or environment, low money, but of course profit for employer.

Oil running into the sea and of course remains of cargo, like chemicals or what ever is in it.

You better have it done in a country which dont care about environment, cheaper.

 

They spend billions on a machine just to see a Higgsboson particle, but forget about plastic particles.

You get it? I dont.

Red an article once, in Harvard university they found accidentally a way to  transform CO2 to methanol in a relative cheap way. They were not even looking for that. Where is the invention now? Bought and put on a shelf?

Many very good ideas are bought by big companies and just stored, doing nothing.

Why .... money, profit on existing systems and the idea is threatening for companies.

In  few years we will go to Mars and we will start allover again.

 

 

You are absolutely right. The powers that be would rather buy Chinese  nuclear submarines or send rocket to the moon.

But what is the answer to get governments to act realistically.