ECOBRICK CHALLENGES

In 2018, we commissioned waste education consultancy Waste-Ed to run a new challenge to find new functional uses for ecobricks.

The GTP has a vision for Bellville as a zero-waste community. With landfill sites reaching capacity, it’s time for everyone to rethink how they discard their waste, the importance of recycling, and how to reduce the waste they create in the first place. Ecobricks are an effective solution to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste sent to landfill every year.

The competition, Bellville’s first Ecobrick Design Challenge was conceived as our campaign to achieve #BellvilleZero.

We asked the Bellville community for their best design idea for using ecobricks. The challenge was open to anyone who wants to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill every week, with a chance to win prizes and to see the winning designs built in Bellville.

The following criteria were considered:

• Consideration of the environmental impact of design and materials used
• Functionality or usability of the design or artistic effect of structure in the Bellville central business district (CBD)
• Concept behind the design
• Degree of innovation
• Ease of replication (can be built in three weeks)
• Any size ecobrick could be used, not only 2l plastic bottles
• The structure is built for outdoor use and can be used and seen in the Bellville CBD

With landfill sites almost at capacity, waste is becoming a significant issue in our cities. So we want to encourage people think about how they discard their waste, the importance of recycling, and how to reduce the waste they create in the first place. This is an important part of our efforts to facilitate an urban transition, for Bellville to become a leading African city, where people can live, work and play in a well-kept urban centre.

The Ecobrick challenge is part of the GTP’s Bellville Zero campaign, in a bid to transition Bellville to a zero-waste environment.