DeborahParr58Nov 12, 2023
Hari Tulsidas

Some Nigerians are building earthquake-proof homes from plastic bottles, turning trash into a sustainable and affordable housing material. The homes are made by filling plastic bottles with sand and stacking them like bricks, bound by mud and string. The homes are 20 times stronger than regular bricks, bulletproof, and insulated from the heat.

#PlasticBottles #EarthquakeProof #SustainableHousing

https://scoop.upworthy.com/nigerians-is-building-earthquake-proof-homes-from-plastic-bottles-576290-576290-576290-576290

Nigerians are building earthquake-proof homes from plastic bottles and it could be a game-changer

Upworthy
Sep 15, 2023 at 12:01pmWeb
Show threadWarren SendersSep 15, 2023

@haritulsidas I love it. Empty bottles will of course let in light, with lovely effect. See the work of Tessa Prisbey:

http://www.bottlevillage.com/

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village Home

Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Sep 15, 2023
@WarrenSenders @haritulsidas bottles aren't empty. But perhaps you could leave some empty to get the lighting effect without compromising the wall/earthquake protection
Show threadRenéeSep 16, 2023
@WarrenSenders @haritulsidas Also, see Earthships for another spin on this!
Show threadChris Helming  Sep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas and they look cool as hell
Show threadJo - pièce de résistanceSep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas
I saw a video with 3D printed prefabs with the bulk of the extruded material being recycled plastic bottles.
It's so interesting. I just love the possibilities 3D printed provides for adaptable engineering and beautiful design. That's one of the places investment should have gone. The opportunities for really breakthrough, flexible, and sustainable design are in 3D printing.
https://youtu.be/t7KbfPSDdmc?feature=shared
Housing crisis + plastic overflow = prefab made of used bottles

YouTube
Show threadJoshSep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas @Adam_Cadmon1 This is awesome. Why are we not doing this?
Show threadDud (Mx)Sep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas If they're worried about running out of sand maybe they could use other non-recyclable products like foam packaging (assuming it's not dangerously flammable)? compacting stuff into plastic bottles also means no need for molds to cast them.
This needs further investigation and experimentation...
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Sep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas it's an interesting idea, but it will be at the cost of constant micro plastics entering the local environment. Especially with them exposed to the sun at least on the ends.
Show threadMaggie MaybeSep 15, 2023
@pixelpusher220 @haritulsidas yeah I personally don’t want to live surrounded by plastic that’s getting heated up on a regular basis. Obviously I would prefer this to being exposed to the elements, but I don’t want to be surrounded by hot plastic.
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Sep 15, 2023

@maggiemaybe @haritulsidas hadn't even considered the air quality side of it!

I suspect the insides at least don't get too warm given the insulating properties of both sand and plastic itself. Still right outside though

Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteSep 15, 2023
@maggiemaybe @pixelpusher220 @haritulsidas I think they should at the very least do a mud plaster cover on the outside, to keep the bottles from degrading in the sunlight.
Show threadMaura HubbellSep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas If that plastic catches fire the fumes could be nasty.
Show threadAviva GarySep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas neat...
Show threadKarl AuerbachSep 15, 2023

@haritulsidas What provides the earthquake resistance? Is it the round shape of the bottles that form a kind of interlocking. If the string is organic - such as cotton - doesn't the string decay.

Here in California adobe bricks (and anything stacked without interlocking reinforcement) has not fared well in earthquakes.

Show threadAcin on .artSep 15, 2023

@karlauerbach I'm guessing the shape and composition of the "sand compactly packed in plastic bottles" is why "the homes have 20 times the strength of bricks."

(The quotes are from Yahaya Ahmed of Nigeria’s Development Association for Renewable Energies by way of
Sethuraman S in the linked UPWORTHY article.)

@haritulsidas

Show threadblterribleSep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas I hesitate to call B.S., but I'm going to need to see the shake table studies of this claimed sturdiness. Mud is going to adhere to bottles far worse than to bricks. How about we try to move away from unreinforced masonry (is mud technically even masonry?) in areas where earthquakes are common rather than try to add bottle recycling to the mix, literally.
Show threadfosfeneSep 15, 2023

@haritulsidas

Calling this "sustainable" is a lie. Sure, it upcycles the bottles for a couple of decades before they decay, but you have to deal with the plastic trash eventually.

The idea that plastic is a sustainable material that can be recycled is a lie that Big Oil has spent billions on propaganda to make us believe. Please don't contribute to spreading this lie.

The inconvenient truth is that we need to leave the oil in the ground.
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled

Show threadShark AttakSep 15, 2023
@haritulsidas I just wonder how much the bottles will last.
Show threadPeter BrownSep 16, 2023
@haritulsidas sounds like they will have the insulating performance of an oven in hot weather. If they built from adobe, they would have natural air conditioning for no cost albeit they may have to rebuild after a severe earthquake.
Show threadKarl-Heinz ZimmerSep 16, 2023

@haritulsidas

What about the softeners?

Softener slowly leaches out of plastic. When there is so much plastic, there might be more softener in the air than good for children that might be sleeping next to the wall.

It might be phthalates that are harmful to peoples health.

PS: I am not an expert, just worrying.

Show threadGabriel PettierSep 17, 2023
@haritulsidas oh great, i had a similar idea (well, not with sand, but indeed using water bottles) years ago but of course never tried it, and ideas are worthless if you don’t try executing them, good on them for actually doing it!
There is so much good material, of standardized shape, that we throw away simply for being designed for packaging, it’s great to find long more useful usage to them.
Show threadKathy E. Gill 🇺🇦Nov 12, 2023

@haritulsidas

I don't know why this tech doesn't get more attention. It. Is. Old.

That photo is probably from 2011.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14722179

Nigeria's plastic bottle house

Nigeria's first house built from discarded plastic bottles is proving a tourist attraction in the northern village of Yelwa, writes the BBC's Sam Olukoya.

BBC News