Americans threw away 33 million tons of plastic in 2013, according to the EPA. How long does it take a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill? Some say 500 years, some say 1,000. Plastic hasn’t been around long enough. We (in our lifetime) will never know how long today’s petroleum-based plastic bottles take to break down in the environment. But we can do something with them while they’re around.
Plastic Bottle Homes Around the World
Eco-Tec’s Casa de la Fe. Used vehicle wheel rims make up the foundation and some of the pillars.
Casa de la Fe (Faith House) Honduran Foundation for the Rehabilitation and Integration of the Handicapped. The texture of the outside surface depends on which way the bottles face. eco-tecnologia.com
Eco Tec’s Sky Field House under construction.
How To Help? Buy A Reusable Water Bottle
The best thing, of course, would be to stop using plastic water bottles completely. We recommend these eco-friendly, reusable water bottles.
- Hydro Flask Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle
- Stanley Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle
- Nalgene Tritan Wide Mouth BPA-Free Water Bottle
An Eco-Tec home in Bolivia. PET bottle bottoms on the left. Wine bottle bottoms on the right.
This home in Bolivia incorporates lots of wine bottles as well as PET bottles. Here they used concrete pillars instead of PET columns.
Eco-Tec Africa – solving Nigeria’s housing shortage. Ecotec-Africa & physorg.com
Polli’s self interlocking plastic bricks are translucent thereby allowing the play of natural light to shine through. The manufacturers add they are good thermal and sound insulators and can withstand hurricane force winds. No BPA, but wish they could make the fireproof backing curtain for walls out of something other than PVC. Can be used for walls, greenhouses, roofs, etc.
Ecological Bottle House, near the Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina.
Photo credit: Xinhua/Martin Zabala. Love the bottle cap curtains!
The family will instruct anyone who is up for a visit, or if you pay for their travel expenses, they will come to you. sites.google.com
Water bottle wall in Danone office, Tokyo. Great idea as partitions in an office!
The Morimoto Restaurant’s bottle wall in NYC is composed of 17,400 half liter plastic bottles filled with mineral water and then backlit with LED lights. Originally found at “morimotonyc.com”
Water bottle wall. The wall is two stories high.
Back outside…
Plastic Bottle Greenhouses
Plastic bottle greenhouse on Blue Rock Station, Ohio. This one sits on old tires and is made from 1000 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles. Flickr photo by ticticticticboom
Plastic bottle greenhouses are all the rage in Europe. Picasa-Cudlees.
Owlsoup Photo on Flickr
Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
Photo by bryanilona on Flickr
A Danish plastic bottle shed. Flickr photo By christof
Plastic Bottle House Innovations
Eco-Tec’s Ecoparque El Zamorano, Honduras.
Ecological House: Constructed with 8,000 bottles with composting toilets and a solar water heating system. The green roof can weigh 30 tons when wet and has been supported by the walls without any extra reinforcement. It is the first house in the world made from PET bottles without using cement in the walls.
Tomislav Radovanic, a retired math professor from central Serbia has built a house of waste plastic. “The house is comfortable and it practically cost me nothing,” Radovanovic said, adding that the bottles are good insulators. The foundation is concrete but all else is plastic; gutters, windows and furniture are made from recycled bottles. Freerepublic.com
Eco Tec’s Sky Field House: The first vaulted ceiling using PET bottles.
All Eco-tec projects have a strong social focus. Most of the PET bottles used are recovered in clean-up campaigns and recycling drives. The community then fills them with sand. They train the unemployed and handicapped in their construction methods. They build water tanks, schools, community centers, urban benches as well as homes. Andreas Froese, Eco-Tec’s inventor hopes to also build some PET homes in Haiti utilizing construction debris. Most of the PET bottles used are recovered in clean-up campaigns and recycling drives. (www.eco-tecnologia.com)
Ecological Bottle House, near the Iguazu Falls, Misiones, Argentina.
Alfredo Santa Cruz and his family built this house and matching play house out of used plastic bottles, Tetra Packs and CD cases. They used 1200 PET plastic bottles for the walls, 1300 milk and wine Tetra Pack boxes for the roof, 140 CD cases for the doors and windows, plus 320 PET bottles for the furniture. (sites.google.com)
Taiwan’s plastic bottle building: EcoARK Exhibition Hall.
Not just a bottle picked off the street. Polli-Brick from Minimize is made from recycled PET bottles. The building can be disassembled and then reassembled elsewhere. Looks like that might take a bit of time though as the building is 279 feet long.
Plastic Bottle Houses Under Construction
Plastic Bottle Construction. Cement.
Plastic Bottle Construction. Adobe.
Plastic Bottle Construction. Eco-Tec in Bolivia
Plastic Bottle Construction. Eco-Tec builds many cisterns/water tanks.
Plastic Bottle Construction. How to make an arch.
A painted wall.
Eco-Tec’s aquaduct.
How To Build A Plastic Bottle House
- Eco-Tec How to booklet: docs.google.com
- Hug it Forward Bottle School Wiki: bottleschools.org
- Blue Rock Station in Ohio sells an illustrated booklet on
How to Build a Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
WOW amazing!… i now know what i’m going to use in a greenhouse i’ll do…
Wonderful, howesome, marvelous….. not enough vocabulary for me to say how is the idea. Please continie and show us, the occidental ‘polluter’, a good way to use the things we use to throw away.
Thanks again
inspiring…greenhouse time.
LOVE this…..I would be gratefull for 1 of these houses.Amazing what a bit of effort and a great creativity can do.
This is FABULOUS. Congratulations. I can absolutely see myself doing this, have imagined the wine bottle walls would be fun. I am a disabled artist in Oregon. Last spring I started crocheting vhs video tape into sculptures, baskets and vessels more specifically. The mylar is very thermal, I would love to show anyone how I do it. Rugs, curtains, baskets, and I think I am on to getting my weaves strong enough for furniture. Oh, plus, what I am trying to figure out how to build a structure with the left over vhs cases. They are shaped like flat bricks. Also, all the parts that come from inside the tape will be used in my art work. I’m here in my homeland, usa… does anyone want to adopt an eco artist??? Take me somewhere the public is not so spoiled and wasteful. kershaw97901@gmail.com
These are some wonderful examples of what a person can do with discards. I raise rabbits and have taken to going to the recycling depot for the multitude of aluminum inter-fitting pipes from all the discarded patio sun covers. I use the metal pieces as frames and braces and construct light and sturdy rabbit cages. The pipes also make great wind chimes when cut to varying lengths and hung.
amazing stuff
I’ve seen some wonderful things done with plastic bottles; ie: windowfarms.org, but whole buildings is a great idea. I live near a glass house built from embalming fluid bottles and it’s pretty amazing too. Now I just have to figure out where to store the bottles until I have enough to build with. Thanks for the great ideas!!
i love these recycled ideas, they are exactly what i am looking for….i love the creative and fun nature of the form building and think it is the only way to incorporate reusing trash and finding creative solutions to expensive building….so many wonderful ideas….thank you loads and loads!!!
Absolutely adore this project and will write about you at https://www.finecraftguild.com . It’s an excellent article. Inspirational: giving us all a ‘CAN DO’ mentality.
I love it ! This is what we need.
Would square be easier to build from?
If we could heat ’em and compress ’em we could, make them harden square. The great thing is the are thermal double glazed and great for both hot and cold places.
Eco-Tec’s Ecoparque El Zamorano, Honduras.
It is the first house in the world made from PET bottles without using cement in the walls.’
You can easily find the build process of this house on the internet. There is a huge amount of concrete used here. Also stone columns. And even steel beams and columns. Using pet is a good thing, defying gravity is something else.
A civil engineer.
Wow!!!!
I have been looking into greenhouse ideas for my new england home – now I’m thinking I want to expand my thinking in a way bigger way!
Como puedo hacer para obtener asistencia tecnica en linea para desarrollar un proyecto de muro de proteccion perimetral usando su ecotecnologia. Soy de El Salvador, recientemente fui al ministerio de medio ambiente y ellos carecian del conocimiento
Guyana, my South American home is now over run by Brazilian products, and the main culprit is PLASTIC BOTTLES, oh how i would so love to build my plastic empire now. Thanks for the Inspirationgreen guys.
Absolutely amazing: so simple, resourceful, helpful and sustainable. I am encouraged, inspired and grateful. I am posting (and linking back) to my site and will make our march challenge to make a structure from plastic bottles.
Love the ideas involved with recycling plastic bottles for building. What is their shelf life? Great idea for Hati! No emissions over time? Green house ideas are wonderful, would like to build one of my own. TY for the info, and the appretiation for creative human beings!
Give the word ‘greenhouse’ a whole new meaning.
Incredible ideas and absolutely brilliant as recycling… Thanks Dominique
What great ideas everyone has! In the shots where the bottles are exposed as part of the design, I have two questions… are there concerns over gassing off as they deteriorate? How long will an outdoor structure last? Nice job everyone!
I love this idea. If I had a lot, I’d consider doing this
The most brilliant idea EVER! Who ever thought that any good could come of this plastic bottle mess we’ve created! This is so good on so many levels! I’m greatly inspired!
This is truly inspiring…I had already decided to make a plastic bottled greenhouse and having a look at how to do it….these photos are amazing and have sparked a real passion to join the recycling others. I just think it is so so wonderful to be able to use our rubbish to build houses etc….turning a curse to a blessing….Cheers and have fun All:)
It is an most Brilliant idea I have ever seen.
I like this verry mutch and I think I will do this in my house in Thailand also, there I can find and collect manny bottles.
verry verry nice.
I LOOOOOVE innovative ideas that serve the planet! Thank you soooo much for this!!!!
Love
Jivan
I don’t want to drink out of them and certainly would not live in anything made from them. problem not solved.
Thank you. Very inspirational!
this is a solution. We must always think outside the box & transform the Mind Sets of today. this presentation here certainly brings Light that brings more Light to housing, greenhouses, garden designs & for 3rd world countries allot & for wherever a home is within the heart…It can become a reality.
My brother recently passed on from Cancer & Scott would have loved this designs…for sure….thank-you for the Light in a home..
cjl
😀
Fantastic! as someone who promotes healthy alkaline ionized water, and is working with people who are bottling the water in order that the larger percentage of people can access the water without paying $700-3700 for a machine…this makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable about the concept…………I was very concerned about the bottle factor…but when I see these kinds of answers..
Alan Ogilvie
Electro Water
electrolyzedwater@gmail.com.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Garbage_Patch
This is FABULOUS!!!! Thank you for all the photos. I’ve been wanting to build something with those bottles, but I never really knew how to do it. I’ve got lots of ideas now.
Wow…. beautiful and mind blowing. wish these thing would be done regularily around here in israel…
My comments are not my original thoughts, rather points made during a discussion of this amazing craftsmanship and brilliant use of resources.
Recycling=excellent
Recycling plastic= excellent.
Plastic gives of toxic gasses when heated by the sun or other heat sources= bad, cancer-causing bad.
I don’t want to be a downer as I LOVE this website and the idea’s behind it.
I just wonder how, or if, things even out.
Wow an awesome idea. we could all use them to help others who need homes where would you go in the US to learn more
These are amazingly creative, BUT having considered building a plastic bottle greenhouse I have decided against it – off-gassing, especially of dioxins, must be a serious problem, this will be absorbed by your plants! Even when rendered I should imagine its problematic, look at how much we have been warned about off-gassing formaldehyde, off-gassing from laminate floors etc. But still, if I had nothing else….And of course Glass should be fine.
Thank you for this. It gives hope for the world!
for every bad there is some good. and this is a project that shows that we have some amazing creative ppl that with their magical hands can repair some of the damage that other have cause!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Amazing we all need to take a better look at our world and what we can make with what we throw away. This is a perfect example of what can be done if you just try to do good in the world.
Great Idea! Is this working in Brazil?
People in Mexico have been doing this for years! They use bottles or cans & instead of cement, they use clay right from their backyard! They use broken glass for their kitchen countertops
Fantastic! I would like to see more about the durability factor in climates like BC. It’s very smart, and very friendly. Glad to see it and will share this with others.
What about fire?
Isn’t it dangerous?
I am building a small museum in Ecuador in 2012 with plastic bottles. This is so inspiring.
thanks Elizabeth
Where can we get instructions how to do this ourselves in english? The english translation of the http://www.eco-tecnologia.com website doesn’t appear to work.
Hi, Here’s an Instructables’ How-To: https://www.instructables.com/id/New-Innovation-in-Construction-using-Waste-Plastic/
And Earthship videos here: https://earthship.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=711&Itemid=3
That squidoo link above has a how to greenhouse, as I come across more, I’ll list…Have fun if you build one!
These are amazing! Does anyone know if there’s a way to donate bottles to projects?
Surely the best solution is to buy liquids in glass bottles which can be re-used? When I was a boy, if you took a glass bottle back to a shop, the shop keeper gave you a small amount of money. The bottles were returned to the factory and re-filled, thus saving energy, materials and giving small boys some money to spend on making model aeroplanes. However, the curse of the plastic bottle is with us, but it is good to see something constructive coming from this wasteful technology.
I really like both idea and designs shown here, but would really like for somoene to seperate fact and fiction in regards to the off-gassing issue that several people have raised, but noone seems to be able to answr… Offgassing is supposedly not a problem with the worn out car tyres used in the walls of earthships, but what about PET bottles? If someone could provide some insights, science or personal experiences on the subject, I would be very grateful.
WOW! WOW! WOW! GENIUS!