Creating a house plan in the Philippines can’t only be considered a fun and exciting opportunity for individuals, especially for new homeowners; it can be a way to save the earth as well. Green architecture has been around for some time and only grows to be a bigger advocacy of developers today. This sustainable way of design and construction are being pushed not only to help save the environment but also produce high quality but eco-friendly buildings.

One innovation in green architecture is the ecobrick. The idea has been circa 2014, starting from Guatemala, then eventually reaching practice in parts of Africa. What started out as a small recycling project is now gaining bigger popularity both for its ingenuity and practicality.

The idea of the ecobrick is to fix the long-time problem with plastics. Since plastics are not biodegradable and are instead photodegradable, they disintegrate through constant exposure to light. They don’t mix into the soil to become fertilizers—their particle mixes into the waters supply that animals and humans consume. To help reduce the large volume of these plastics, ecobricks leverage the plastic’s strengths (being non-biodegradable, lightweight, durability, etc.) to help build low-cost but quality structures.

It is a viable consideration when making house plans in the Philippines because it is low-cost (if not free), sturdy, and has good insulation. As a material, it is immune to molds, rotting, and even water damage. To create an ecobrick, you just need a PET bottle and a lot of plastic. Just cut the plastic into small pieces and fit them into the bottle as tightly as possible (minimum density of .33g/ml)

According to The Guardian, the ecobrick can be used vertically as infill or it can be mortared and plastered together with clay and cement to create horizontal walls. It can be used as modular construction equipment for furniture, park, and garden spaces, but in Nigeria, they are using it to build full on houses.

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Locally, Ecobricks.org is a non-profit organization that actively advocates ecobricking. If you are really interested in making house plans in the Philippines that incorporate the ecobrick, you can visit their website for free resources, tutorials, and creative usage suggestions.