1635 days ago

Eco-Bricks

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Wellington (The Wash House)

What is an Eco-brick?
An eco-brick is a plastic bottle packed with shredded, single-use, non-recyclable plastics, compressed to a required density to create a reusable building block. They are a sustainable way to reusenon-biodegradable plastic waste as they are regarded as a long-lasting and durable material.

Eco-bricks = a low energy solution to keeping plastic out of the ecosystem!

What is the purpose of an eco-brick?
Making an eco-brick can be a tedious and time-consuming project (but great to do whilst watching TV!) and the purpose of it is to make you responsible for your own plastic waste and encourage you to reduce your own consumption.

The aim is to help you cut down on what you’re buying and ultimately produce less waste whilst creating something beneficial for yourself or the community!

What goes into the eco-brick?
The most important thing about an eco-brick is that the contents are CLEAN and DRY before they get stuffed. The reason for this is to prevent any bacteria or mould forming inside, which will undo all your hard work as they will not be validated!

You can put inside an eco-brick:
Potato chip, biscuit, cake packets etc.
Stretchy plastic e.g., carrier bags, bread bags, clingfilm etc.
Pasta/rice packets
Packaging – bubble wrap/plastic envelopes
Styrofoam/polystyrene
Hard plastic – meat trays, flowerpots etc (however, hard plastics will need to be cut up into much smaller pieces than soft plastic to allow you to reach the weight requirements)

What can I make with an eco-brick?
The most common personal projects are footstools! They can be as small or as large as you want, you can be creative with the bottle bottom colours to make a cool pattern or cover them in some fabric to make a decorative piece around the house!

There are other smaller projects you can make, like doorstops for example! I am personally taking inspiration from this one found on Pinterest:

Ok, so how do I make one?
It is very simple! The picture below shows you how in 5 simple steps. The key is to just keep stuffing until you can’t any more! With time and patience, your brick will come to life.

More messages from your neighbours
13 hours ago

Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎉 2026 is almost here!

We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?

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Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
  • 9.8% Yes! New Year, New Me
    9.8% Complete
  • 22% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
    22% Complete
  • 68.1% Nah - not for me
    68.1% Complete
254 votes
T
23 days ago

Possessions sold as one lot

Teresa from Greerton - Parkvale

Morning everyone 😊

I am wanting to sell our mother's possessions as one lot and not individually; ive heard there are people who do this. .
Does anyone know of someone or where I might start?

L
2 days ago

Shame on You!

Lisa from Otumoetai

This is what greeted workers at Brookfield Sallies yesterday morning. All of it looks like it should have gone straight to the tip, which is what the Sallies will now have to pay to do. Surely whoever does this has no conscience. The Sallies do an amazing job of helping people in times of need and they don't need to be spending any money they receive on doing your dirty work, especially at this time of year.

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