Ecobricks

The Ecobricks Project is a sustainability initiative run primarily by students with an interest in sustainability. It offers students and staff across campus the opportunity to get involved while reducing their impact on the planet!

We thank the Students' Union and Socsbox for their help with this project!

What are Ecobricks?

Ecobricks are large plastic bottles packed tightly with soft plastics. These plastic-filled bottles are very sturdy and can be used as building blocks for a wide range of things, for example furniture. Ecobricks are thus a sustainable way to sequester plastic that would otherwise be destined for landfill, or possibly end up in the ocean.

See https://ecobricks.org/en/ for more information.

What does the project involve?

We want University of Galway students and staff to make Ecobricks!

All you need to do is:

• Collect clean and dry soft plastics
• Tightly fill a large plastic bottle with these plastics
• Drop the Ecobrick off at one of our collection points on campus 

It's that simple!

Collection points:

• SU office, Áras na Mac Léinn
• Socsbox, Áras na Mac Léinn
• SU desk, Engineering Building

You can drop off completed ecobricks OR raw ecobrick materials (empty bottles, clean and dry soft plastics)

How to make an Ecobrick

Important points:

• Do not add anything that can break down to the ecobrick (paper, tissue, food, bioplastics, compostable materia
• If there is moisture or food inside the ecobrick, this will cause mould to grow
• Larger bottles are preferable (minimum 500ml)
• Do not add hard plastic, metal, glass or tin foil to your ecobrick as these cannot be compressed easily
• Make sure your ecobrick is packed as tightly as possible. You need to compress the contents well with a stick/spoon handle. We can only build with ecobricks that are solid. You can weigh your ecobrick to make sure it is dense enough: a 1L ecobrick should weigh approximately 250g, and a 2L ecobrick should weigh around 450g.

IMPORTANT: do not buy plastic bottles or more plastic than you would usually consume especially to make ecobricks. The aim of this initiative is to save plastic from landfill, not to produce more waste. We want to create a greater awarenesss around how much plastic we consume and how we can reduce our impact on the environment.

Instagram Competition

Share a picture of your Ecobrick to Instagram with the hashtag #ecobricksgalway to be in with the chance to win €100!

Make sure to follow us @uniofgalwaysustainability

What will we do with the Ecobricks?

The Ecobricks will be used as part of an inter-society competition.

(See section below)

Socieites Competition

**Deadline is 24th February (extended). Winners will be announced by 14th March

Build a functional structure using ecobricks for the chance to win a cash prize.

Regulations:

• The structure needs to be something functional, like a stool or table, but you can get creative!
• The structure needs to be made primarily from Ecobricks (>50%)
• You need to use a minimum of 4 Ecobricks

Societies are encouraged to make and collect their own Ecobricks, but we will also distribute the ecobricks collected from the university communtiy amongst societies.

Sign up for the competition here

Keep an eye out on our instagram @uniofgalwaysustainability for upcoming ecobrick workshops!‌

Questions

You can message us on Instagram @uniofgalwaysustainability or email ecobricksgalway@gmail.com with any questions!