Want Free “Eco-Bricks” for building?

I have access to a seemingly endless supply LDPE plastic cubes that are 1.5 feet in width, length, height. We can fill them with shredded LDPE plastic to make them hard for free building materials. OR we can send them to you as is. We may be able to pay to ship to you.  

I’ve seen many people use things like this for material to fill their cob houses.

If you are interested, please DM me. And I will send you pictures and exact dimensions.

May I know what is "Eco" in plastic containers potentially filled with more plastic trash?

Cristobal Cristo wrote:May I know what is "Eco" in plastic containers potentially filled with more plastic trash?

It has to go somewhere, so some people use it as filler material to save cost and keep it in a managed area. Polyethylene is generally safe as long as microplastic isn't spreading around.

Yup. Maybe OP can cut the cubes in half and use them as flower pots or mini-greenhouses then rinse them out and recycle them responsibly when done.

I trust the OP is speaking in earnest.

First question: what was in the containers? That matters a lot.

I can't see these as building blocks for a permanent residence. They just wouldn't be strong enough as structural members.

However, I can see them reused for all sorts of temporary Lego-block applications -- thermal mass or insulation. Filled with sand/water/clay for temporary thermal mass in a greenhouse. Filled with dry soil and perlite to create a microclimate and extend the growing season around vulnerable plants. Even filled with chopped straw/shredded styrofoam/[name your insulation] to enhance the survival shelters of those who desperately need them, and truly some do.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I trust the OP is speaking in earnest.

First question: what was in the containers? That matters a lot.

I can't see these as building blocks for a permanent residence. They just wouldn't be strong enough as structural members.

However, I can see them reused for all sorts of temporary Lego-block applications -- thermal mass or insulation. Filled with sand/water/clay for temporary thermal mass in a greenhouse. Filled with dry soil and perlite to create a microclimate and extend the growing season around vulnerable plants. Even filled with chopped straw/shredded styrofoam/[name your insulation] to enhance the survival shelters of those who desperately need them, and truly some do.

I am a very reuse-recycle person and I feel the OP's offer is very genuine and helps to reuse and recycle something that is a product of manufacturing something.

Our landfills do not need all this plastic added to them.

Dillon, would it be possible to post a picture of what your Eco-Bricks look like?

A 1.5 ' x 1.5' x 1.5' is bigger than the concrete blocks I am familiar with that are used for building.

Let's talk about how these could be used to our benefit.

Just for fun here are ways these bricks could be used  that I found on Pinterest:

I know the bricks don't look like these:


source


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I also found these that might be of interest:

https://permies.com/t/61090/plastic-trash

https://permies.com/t/164130/Enquiry-eco-bricks

Agreed, there are many possible options. I am not automatically averse to using plastic containers. On the contrary -- they solve a lot of problems, used strategically.

But it's important to know exactly what they contained. Please give us a safety data sheet or other exact specification. LDPE/HDPE is a fairly porous matrix, sort of a sponge for some chemicals, and will release them over time.

I can envision these as micro greenhouses -- chop of the tops, or bottoms, or both, and plunk down over a garden patch to get the growing going ...?

They certainly sound like they ought to be useful. I'm on the wrong continent, but it would be interesting to know whether the PE is UV stable, or coloured at all, and what the wall thickness is. The OP implies that they are a bit flexible at present (but rigid if filled). I'm imagining that they are a container of some kind, like a bottle, so presumably have an opening, unless they were some sort of blow moulding with closed ends....