Why is plastic recycling important?
Plastic waste is becoming a widely recognised problem. The Philippines generates 2.7 million metric
tons of plastic waste every year, 20% ends up in the ocean. The plastic will double in the next twenty
years and quadruple in 2050. Recycling of plastic has become more important worldwide. (Sunstar)
Everywhere you see, there is plastic. It is strong, light, cheap and very versatile. Most of the plastic
waste does not get reused or recycled and experts believe that 50% of plastic is single-use, meaning
it is used once before being discarded. Single-use plastic includes plastic water bottles, plastic
packaging and plastic grocery bags.
Most types of plastic are in fact recyclable, but most municipal governments do not have the
infrastructure in place to carry out this energy-intensive process. Recycling plastic does not only
require large amounts of energy but also uses large quantities of water. (Mejarito)
Recycling plastic in Philippines
In the city of Manila, Philippines, there are volunteers who collect plastic waste, which are brought to
an industrial partner. There the plastic is recycled and turned into paving stones or bricks. In return,
for each 170 kilos of plastic waste, the volunteers receive thousand brick or paving stones that can be
used for various construction projects.
According to the media 'UNTV News and Rescue',
residents in the Philippines receive 1 kg of rice for 500 -
700 grams of plastic bottles. The plastic bottles must be
filled with a variety of plastic materials such as; bags and
packaging material. In this way, cleaning up the city is
encouraged and the residents all receive a
consideration. The plastic bottles are used for making
various walls and art projects. The filled plastic bottles
are an ongoing project of "The Plastic Solution" and
"Eco-bricks" in the Philippines. (UNTV News and Rescue,
2019)
The Philippines has several different projects to
minimize the plastic in the cities. Each city has their own
project or method to handle all the plastic soup.
Figures 1. Plastic soup (taken from the Green Antz
Facebook page)
Project PARMS
Parañaque CENRO started a project called PARMS (Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials
Sustainability) together with Green Antz Builders to reduce plastic. They developed an extruder
machine to melt both shredded plastics (sando bags and other onetime use kinds), sachet and sand
into lumbers. These lumbers can be turned into usable products such as pallets, school chairs, tables,
and tire bumpers. Per hour, the device can consume around 250kg of plastic waste.
PARMS is a multi-stakeholder coalition consisting of members across the waste management value
chain; from corporations, retailers, industry groups, haulers, converters, junkshops, MRFs, civil
service organizations, academia, and government agencies. PARMS is premised on developing and
implementing a holistic and comprehensive program to increase resource recovery and reduce
landfill dependence, leading towards a zero waste Philippines. (Parms, 2019)
Green Antz Builders
Green Antz Builders was founded by Rommel Benig, former Industrial Services Head for Nestle
Philippines in 2012. Having been inspired by his previous work with Nestle, Rommel adopted the
creating-, shared-, value-business model.
Their mission is to create green sustainability initiatives while alleviating poverty. To ensure the
sustainability of their mission, creating environmentally responsible communities is also inculcated in
the process. Part of Green Antz’s operations is the creation of partnerships with responsible local
communities to obtain wastes that can be used for innovating products. For this year, the company is
looking at establishing 24-30 more eco-brick manufacturing hubs. (Mejarito, 2018)
Our Project
We searched for a cheap and easy solution to recycle plastic without using a plastic smelter, extruder
machine or something that has an engine. Our solution must be maintained easily without the need
of special knowledge. By using these criteria, a local or employee can maintain the product with no
problems. The costs for maintaining the product will be as low as possible.
We found out with some help of the government of Parañaque that there are manual shredder bikes
supplied by Green Antz Builders. They are easy to maintain, and no knowledge is needed. The bike
can come with an electric motor, but in our solution, we recommend the manual bikes. Those will be
cheaper and easier to maintain. The bikes are essential to make the eco-bricks. Our goal is to setup
an eco-hub in Mandaue City to reduce the plastic problem.
Not all types of plastic are recyclable. For Styrofoam’s there are densifier machines to melt shredded
styro. In our project this will be disregarded due to the costs.
What is an eco-brick
An eco-brick is a plastic bottle packed with plastic to a set density to create a reusable building block.
Eco-bricks are used to make modular furniture, garden spaces and full-scale buildings such as schools
and houses. (Low, 2018)
In our project we want plastic bottles to be shredded and mixed with cement to make a brick paving
stone.
Figures 2. Eco-Brick (taken from the Green Antz Facebook page)
Why eco-brick?
• An Eco-brick is 5-6 times stronger than a typical hollow block.
• They are cheaper to make
• Easier to stack.
• Every eco-brick looks different
• Less labour man-hours
• Less concrete mix, shorter curing time
• Less breakage while storing on site
• Less water needed
• At least 30% saving in overall wall construction costs
Eco-bricks have different variants to serve different purposes. For instance, the Pervious Paver Eco-
Brick is innovated for rainwater recovery in open spaces. It has been an ideal alternative to standard
cement bricks. One piece of Pervious Paver can absorb 1 litre of flood water within 8-10 seconds.
(Mejarito, 2018)
Figures 3. Pervious Paver Eco-Brick (taken from the Green Antz Facebook page)
Size of an Eco-Brick
The size of an eco-brick is 4x5x10
How it’s done
There are a few materials needed to make eco-bricks. Tons of plastic is needed to start with. The
plastic needs to be put in the bin of the bicycle. Someone must cycle, this can be an employee,
resident or a child. By cycling the blades will rotate in the bin of the bicycle and shreds the plastic.
The shredded plastic will be put in a mixing machine which mix the plastic together with cement,
sand and water. The combination of those will be put into moulds. After it comes out of the machine,
the eco-bricks go to the curing cabinet which allow them to dry for 4-6 hours. Then they soak them
and bring them back to dry. The drying period last for 1-2days. When its dry you’ll have an eco-brick
made of cement, sand, water and plastic. (Ayala Land, Inc., 2019)
Figures 4. How Eco-Brick are made (taken from the parms website)
Figures 5. How Eco-Brick are made (taken from the nestle website)
How much is needed
One set of shredder bike, a mould and a mixing machine will be recommended to see if the project
has a big impact on the locals. The awareness of the locals nearby the eco-hub is very important.
They need to collect/save all the plastic and deliver it to a collection point or the eco-hub itself to
make the project a success.
One eco-brick contains around 100 pieces of plastics, cement, sand and water.
Figures 6. Eco-Brick (taken from the nestle website)
Production
One machine can produce 500 to 600 pieces of eco bricks a day, for 8 hours. (Econstrukt Ph, 2018)
When can the project start
Green Antz Builders is the supplier of the eco-brick machines (shredder bike, mould and mixing
machine). They are located in Bulacan, Philippine 870 km from Mandaue City. Green Antz Builders
could ship the machines to the nearest location of the eco-hub, if they agree to help the city of
Mandaue. If Green Antz Builders have their products in stock the project can start within 2 weeks.
Total costs
The total costs for this project must be consulted with Green Antz Builders. They can be contacted
by:
- Phone: +63 44 893 2255
- Email: greenantzbuilders@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenAntzBuilders/
Appendix 1. Green Antz Builders
Figures are taken from the Green Antz Facebook page
Source: https://www.facebook.com/GreenAntzBuilders/
Bibliography
Ayala Land, Inc. (2019, 4 22). Ayala Land Eco Hub at ARCA South. Retrieved from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/officialayalaland/videos/428744461285498/UzpfSTEwNjkwNzg1
MjMxNTcwNTY6MjM3NTcwMDEzOTE2MTU0OA/
Econstrukt Ph. (2018, 7 31). Ecobricks with Green Antz Builders. Retrieved from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMbYfdNyWk
Low, C. (2018, 10 7). Ecobricks: Plastic Solved. Retrieved from Thesustainabilityproject:
https://thesustainabilityproject.life/ecobricks-plastic-solved/
Mejarito, J. A. (2018, 9 15). Green Antz Builders. Retrieved from Tagpuan:
https://tagpuanph.wixsite.com/creatingsharedvalue/copy-of-why-creating-shared-value
Parms. (2019, 1 1). Together Towards Zero Waste. Retrieved from PARMS:
https://www.parms.com.ph/
Sunstar. (2018, 8 17). First ecobrick hub seen to reduce plastic pollution. Retrieved from Sunstar:
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1758612
UNTV News and Rescue. (2019, 2 19). Plastic to Bigas project, sinimulan na sa ilang barangay sa
bansa. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqBQKJtYRSM
