The challenge of transitioning from plastic connects us across cultures and continents. By valuing the ecological service of plastic sequestration we can accelerate plastic transition.
Brikcoins (BRK / ß) are a digital token based on real world plastic that has been sequestered by ecobrickers around the world on a manual blockchain. Brikcoins are generated each time an ecobrick is authenticated by the ecobricker community to meet the standards and criteria of plastic sequestration. The Brikcoins generated are distributed to those doing the hard work – enabling a currency and economy based on the ecological service of plastic sequestration.
Brikcoins can be used to exchange for ecobricks, to purchase regenerative products, and to register for GEA courses. Soon brikcoins will be exchangeable for local ecobricks, products and fiat currency on the GoBrik marketplace. Brikcoins can also be used to purchased AES Plastic credits for personal and business offsetting.
By basing Brikcoins on the ecological value of plastic sequestration, we are accelerating the removal of plastic from industry and the biosphere while accelerating plastic transition.
A Whole New Way to Value Plastic
As the negative effects of plastic pollution are becoming widespread and clear, individuals, companies and governments are realizing that removing plastic from the biosphere is essential. Even more so; preventing it from getting there in the first place.
Plastic that has been properly packed into an ecobrick is effectively secured from degradation. Ecobricking applications put plastic on a secure millenium path out of industry and are one of the only ways to indefinitely prevent plastic from reaching the biosphere.
In this way, ecobricking provides the valuable ecological service of ensuring that plastic does not break down into microplastic, toxins or greenhouse gases in the environment. This value is not captured by the recycling industry – which values plastic only for its material value in the economy. In order to capture the value of securing plastic and preventing contamination, the Global Ecobrick Alliance (GEA) has developed the brikcoin manual blockchain.
The GEA has created the brikcoin token (BRK / ß ) to represent the value of plastic removed from the biosphere. Brikcoins enable the revolutionary quantification and commodification of the value of the sequestered of plastic and of purchaseable offset credits which represent this plastic.
The brikcoin manual blockchain is generated on the GoBrik app. As an impartial, earth-focused enterprise, the GEA operates as a third party to certify the work of ecobrickers and purchases and efforts of companies and governments. The maintenance and development of the blockchain and of GoBrik, are projects of the Global Ecobrick Alliance.
AES Plastic
Authenticated Ecobrick Sequestered Plastic represents plastic that has been secured from contaminating the biosphere and quantified by the brikcoin manual blockchain.
When ecobricks are logged on the GoBrik platform, they are queued for review by the ecobricker community. Each ecobrick is reviewed by three independent validators and evaluated using a constant evolving algorythm to make sure that it meets GEA ecobricking standards and the criteria of plastic sequestration. The net weight of successfully authenticated ecobricks is considered AES plastic. AES plastic credit is received by the responsible ecobricker. It can also be purchased as a plastic offset using cash of brikcoins.
The full accounting of generated brikcoin blocks is stored on our human searchable brickchain. Every authenticated ecobrick is stored on our decentralized ecobrick repository.
Authenticated Ecobricked Plastic represents…
- Plastic that won’t degrade into microplastics, CO2 or green house gases
- Plastic that can now be put to local use for shorterm household projects
- Plastic that can be put to use to build earth and ecobrick green spaces
- The result of a process that raises ecological awareness and lowers plastic consumption
- Plastic that can no longer be contaminated with the Covid-19 virus
How do Brikcoins Work?
Brikcoin is what we call a ‘manual blockchain’. Unlike conventional crypto-currencies, the process of generating brikcoins is 100% manual and is grounded in human labour. Consequently, the earning of brikcoins is open to anyone willing to do some hard work.
Brikcoins (BRK / ß) are a digital token based on real world plastic that has been sequestered and authenticated by ecobrickers around the world on a manual blockchain. Brikcoins are generated each time an ecobrick is authenticated by the ecobricker community on GoBrik. For each Kg of authenticated plastic, 10 ß are generated. These coins are distributed equally among the validators and the GoBrik system. Brikcoins can be used to exchange for ecobricks, to register for GEA courses, to purchase regenerative products on the Regen Shop, and to purchase plastic offset credits. Anyone with an GoBrik account can invest their time and effort to earn brikcoins.
The first part of the generation process is the making of an ecobrick. This time-consuming, labor-intensive process packs plastic tight into a bottle. Once complete, ecobrickers log their ecobrick on the GoBrik platform. A serial number is given by the system and the ecobrickers enscribes this permanently on the ecobrick. A photo of the ecobrick with the serial number is taken and the logging completed.
The logged ecobrick is then automatically queued for review.
The GEA has defined standards for a properly made ecobrick. When a packed bottle meets these standards, it is considered an acceptable ecobrick. The second part of the process involves the work of the ecobricker community to ensure that each logged ecobrick does in fact meet the minimum standards of a good ecobrick. Any user on the system can review and validate ecobricks in the queue. Three independent validators review the ecobrick’s photographic data to make sure that the ecobrick is made properly, meets GEA standards and is legitimate by answering a series of questions.
An algorithm calculates a validation score based on the review. The three validation scores are averaged and if the average exceeds the minimum threshold, the ecobrick is authenticated. Brikcoins are then generated and issued to the validators and the GoBrik Central Reserve based on the weight of the ecobrick.
The amount of Brikcoins generated depends on the weight of the authenticated ecobrick multiplied by the set plastic standard: 100g of ecobricker plastic = 1ß. This is a preset standard on GoBrik. For example, a 0.3 kg ecobrick will generate 3 BRK, while a 0.4 kg ecobrick will generate 4 BRK. Note this is in contrast to the real-time value of brikcoins. See the section below.
Validation Credits
It is important to note that only active ecobrickers can take part in the authentication process. This is assured by a system of validation credits. Validation credits are earned when a user’s ecobrick is authenticated. Each validation that a user makes requires one validation credit. Without validation credits (i.e. without logging good ecobricks) the ecobricker quickly depletes their validation credits.
It is important to note that the maker of the ecobrick does not receive Brikcoins when the authentication of the ecobrick is successful. In this way the Brikcoin value of the ecobrick is decoupled from the generation of Brikcoins.
The Real Time Value of Brikcoins
As Brikcoins are generated, exchanged and sold on the platform the actual value of Brikcoins fluctuates in comparison to the net amount of plastic that has been recorded as secured.
The cost incurred in the ongoing sequestration of plastic through the maintenance and development of GoBrik are tracked in our Open Books. By comparing the past year’s net cost of running the platform vs. the amount amount of plastic authenticated in that year, enables us to determine the current year’s price per Kg.
The purchase price of each Kg of plastic offset is thus at a set price and a set Brikcoin correlation – with the buyer’s personal or company account being credited with both plastic offsets and brikcoins. The transaction is recorded in both our blockchain and our open books.
Offset purchases enables the GEA to continue our work. Purchases also help float the fiat value of brikcoins – which distributes value and incentive for the entire ecobricker network.
The Brikchain
Every ecobrick that is authenticated on GoBrik.com is added to our decentralized network of repositories that we affectionately know as “the brikchain”.
Decentralized Brikchain
The brikchain is maintained on an independent server node that can be replicated by anyone, to help host the full repository of authenticated ecobricks.
Main node: https://briks.gobrik.com/
Contact us at 
if you wish to host a brikchain node on your server!
View the GEA hosted brikchain here.
The Brikcoin White Paper
On Earthday 2020, the GEA released version 1.0 of the Ecobricks & Brikcoin Whitepaper, on The Commodiciation of Manually Sequestered Plastic.
The 32 page document is the culmination of two years of framework-building by half a dozen contributors who are specialist in fields from micro-plastic research, alternative currencies, philosophy, community development and database development. Our whitepaper lays out the context, science and concept for plastic “waste” as an opportunity for a root-level, right-now, you-and-can-do-it, systemic solution.
The document presents ecobricking as a essential set in personal and global plastic transition, and a meaning means of plastic sequestration. The whitepaper provides exhaustive footnoting to the science behind our assumptions and arguments. It then lays out the core concepts of the Brikcoin people-powered, manual blockchain, that gives plastic a revolutionary new value.
The white paper is further based on two years of field operations with our beta GoBrik app and over 40,000 users. Over this period, the platform has authenticated over 20,000 Kg of sequestered plastic, and generated a pool of over 100,000 ß (as of April, 2020).
The Commodification of Sequestered Plastic – GEA White Paper
In the Media
Jakarta Now: Brikcoin: A Manual Cryptocurrency for the Value of the Absence of Plastic
Plastic Offsets
Offsetting is a way to balance our grey earth-impacts with green ones to ensure that our living is greening our local and global biospheres.
Plastic offsetting is way to balance off the plastic you generate. Its a little bit like how some people plant trees or buy carbon offset credits to balance off the carbon footprint. On GoBrik you can purchase of plastic offsets, measured in kilograms of sequestered plastic.
The offsets are certified by us – the Global Ecobrick Alliance – an independent earth enterprise that provides the platform for authenticating that plastic has indeed been effectively sequestered and will not contaminate the biosphere. The GEA issues you a serialize certificate for your purchase of Authenticated Ecobrick Sequestered Plastic (AES Plastic). Your purchase is logged on the brikcoin blockchain and your account credited with AES plastic offset credits.
Brikchain
Search the publically accessible, human readable ledger or all Brikcoin transactions, Ecobrick authentications and AES exchanges.
Ecobrick & Brikcoin White Paper
Go deep into the science, ethos, and vision behind our Brikcoin Manual Blockchain and AES Plastic.
Shop on GoBrik Regen Store using Paypal, credit card or brikcoins.
Plastic Sequestration
Ecobricking puts plastic on a safe and secure millennial road out of industry and out of the biosphere.
