Because plastic can last for so long, its important to plan far into the future– what we call putting plastic on a safe mlillenial road. If we can do this, then the chances are it will be safe for even longer and a gift for a future age.
We make sure that the ways that ecobricks are used keep them safe for the short and the long-term. This means not just that they won’t be damaged, but that they can be used over and over again.
Ecobricks can be put to all sorts of great short term, circular and modular applications that lead to long-term appliations. The first and easiest application of ecobrick is in making modules. Modules are cradle-to-cradle by design. This means that when a module comes to its end, the ecobrick can be taken out and put to use in another module.
A forgotten earth and ecobrick bench after seven years.
After a few years of ecobricking, an ecobricker may have gathered enough ecobricks for an earth and ecobrick build. Such constructions are long-term and circular. They are constructed so when an earth build comes to its end, the ecobrick can be taken out and used in another building. In earthen constructions ecobricks are completely encased. Because the cob blocks all exposure to sun, friction, or heat the plastic inside the ecobricks impede plastic degradation virtually entirely. Scientific research shows that keeping plastic away from light, oxygen and friction exposure prevents it from degrading.
Earth covered ecobricks have no way to degrade and will remain intact indefinitely. The latent fertility of cob, enables the regrowth of plants, trees and forests over abandoned constructions. With each growth of plants, organic material and soil is deposited. Without intervention, ecobricks will be covered and encased over time, prevent the creation of microplastics and preventing the creation of CO2 from its degradation, incineration, or industrial processing.
The Earth’s ancient processes kept billions of tons of hydrocarbons out of the atmosphere, stabilizing climate and gifting future eras. In the same way, ecobricking enables us to indefinitely secure plastic and its hydrocarbons from becoming toxins, micro-plastics or from reaching the atmosphere as C02.
Read more about Ecobrick & Earth Building
Industrial plastic pathways and consequences.
Because plastic is potentially toxic and can endure for so long we want to put it on a path that anticipates its security for at least the next thousand years. Unlike industrial means of processing plastic which end up with plastic scattered and loose in the biosphere, ecobricking follows the Earth’s example of long-term carbon compaction and long-term storage.
Packing plastic into a bottle is a way to follow the Earth’s ancient example of carbon compaction and storage. Ecobricked plastic dramatically reduces the net surface area of hydro-carbon based plastic. By packing thin, high-surface area plastic into a bottle, the net exposed area is reduced a thousand-fold. We call this the ‘This terminal minimization of net surface area‘.
Using the plastic of the bottle to contain the plastic, the carbon molecules of the plastic are effectively and indefinitely kept safe from all forms of potential degradation.
