In the Spring of 2015 we began work with ecobricks at Monte Del Sol. This started with lectures about plastics and the waste products that they usually become, leading into an overview of the global plastic pollution situation. We then showed the students how to make ecobricks – landfill diversion devices to be used in construction projects for a long lasting solution for plastic waste of any kind. Then we broke ground on the first ecobrick bench project in Santa Fe, utilizing a lot of rock from the campus and some reclaimed pallet wood. We filled the back of the bench with ecobricks that the students stuffed, then began working with cob – a mixture of the clay rich earth surrounding Monte Del Sol, plus water and straw. For the bench seat we layered sand-filled bottle bricks with more ecobricks, and finished it all off with a concrete topcoat to waterproof and protect the structure. The day we finished the bench we also broke ground on a new project at the school – a chicken coop insulated with ecobricks and cartonbricks. Special thanks to Joan Henderson and the rest of the staff and students at Monte Del Sol, and our volunteer Candice Mostert who was visiting from South Africa for part of the project.
PLAN 4 PLASTIC 