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Bulletproof, Fireproof, Eco-friendly Homes Are Made of Plastic Bottles

Bulletproof, Fireproof, Eco-friendly Homes Are Made of Plastic Bottles
Building houses from sand-filled plastic bottles and cement creates sturdy, safe, and affordable housing for millions of people.

People from Africa to Latin America are recycling bottles and using them to build fireproof, bulletproof, environmentally-friendly homes.

For about a quarter the cost of a conventional home, folks can build a two-bedroom house from 14,000 recycled plastic bottles by using the technique known as "bottle walls."

For about a quarter the cost of a conventional home, folks can build a two-bedroom house from 14,000 recycled plastic bottles by using the technique known as "bottle walls."

The idea addresses both homelessness and pollution at the same time. Nigeria, for instance, has a housing shortage — 16 million people are homeless — and they have no manageable way to deal with plastic waste piling up across the country.

Nigerians have been getting help from Ecotec Environmental Solutions, a German firm since 2011, which is teaching them how to build with this model.

The bottles are filled with sand and stacked on their sides using cement filling frames to create solid walls – a foot or more thick – that insulate and protect the people inside.

The video below shows how the U.S. Peace Corps has been using a similar method to build houses in Guatemala with discarded bottles.

(WATCH the Peace Corps video below and READ more at The Plaid Zebra) — Photo: Andreas Froese, Facebook

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