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Phase: Ideas Opportunity Areas: Local Design – Global Impact

ECO-BRICKS A SMALL STEP TO CREATE A BIG IMPACT

Eco-bricks to help our environment, quality of live and local prosperity.

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Eco-bricks textures and pores looks more beatiful than the conventional ones (source: https://ademarthadinata.files.wordpress.com) Eco-bricks textures and pores looks more beatiful than the conventional ones (source: https://ademarthadinata.files.wordpress.com)

Indonesia is the second largest plastic waste producer in the world after China. We easily see plastic waste covering rivers, beaches, littering houses and piling up in sanitary landfills. Indonesia already has a waste management law, but it is ineffective to raise public awareness to reduce waste, especially plastic waste.

Recycle, reuse and reduce industries mostly process large-format plastic garbage, but leave small formats such as waste of coffee sachet, sachet shampoo, and many other plastic wrappers from various foods and small items. As a result, small format plastic garbage is left behind by scavengers or janitors at the neighborhood community level and wasted into the environment. This garbage fills the gutters and gutters, immersed in the ground without processing.

Reducing plastic production is as important as rapidly reducing plastic waste in the environment. The massive volume of plastic waste requires fast and massive action to reduce it. In this second part, eco-bricks can be a solution.

Some people took the initiative to create eco-bricks made from plastic into paving blocks or bricks. The demand is quite high, but these small entrepreneurs face a variety of obstacles such as the lack of metal molds to make paving blocks, less of clean production, and the limited number of enthusiasts who participate in eco-bricks producers for underestimating the work of taking care of the garbage. In fact, the raw materials available abundant and free, low level of technology input,  cost of production is relatively low and the profit could reach more than 100% of cost. 

This project aim is to spread the spirit of clean environment and entrepreneurship by creating more and more producers of eco-bricks in many places around Indonesia.    

Idea Title

Break it with Bricks

Company / Organization Name

Indonesia Eco-literacy Foundation (Yayasan Ekoliterasi Indonesia) is a non-profit organization focus on environmental activism.

Website

we have no website yet

Where are you / your team located?

Jakarta, Indonesia

How does this Idea redesign unrecyclable small format plastic items that often end up as waste?

Eco-bricks can be made from any type of plastic waste, but small format plastic waste is best suited for home industry scale. Plastics in a small format will reduce the processing time and fuel consumption as well as carbon emissions during combustion. Small format plastics are often left out by scavengers because they are of little or no value of money compared to large format plastics.

Which use cases does your Idea apply to?

Single use sachet for liquid consumer products, bottle caps and tear-offs, and straw and take-away coffee lids.

In what geographical context or area does your Idea plan to operate / solve?

We will start in the three biggest city of Indonesia for the first year and eager to introduce it nationally in the second year or sooner.

How do you envision scaling up your Idea?

All of Ecobricks have been absorbed by local market. People usually know us from mouth to mouth. The problem occur when we couldn't meet the demand increases every day. So, we need more metal molds to boost production and sales. Second problem is how to reduce the emission from burning of mix material of plastic and motor oil. To overcome the problems we plan to invites some experts or chemical engineer to help us.

At what stage of development is your Idea?

  • Prototyping: You have conducted some small tests or experiments with prospective users and will continue developing idea through these tests.
  • Piloting: You have started to implement your solution as a whole with a first set of real users. You may have started to develop a business model for your idea, including identifying key customer segments, relevant partnerships, go-to-market strategy, and draft financials.

Please describe how becoming a Top Idea and working with the Think Beyond Plastics Accelerator Program will help to accelerate your solution.

Your program will be our backbone in two ways. Firstly, it will help us to have more metal molds and other production tools, so as to increase production significantly. Secondly, we will use some funds to create as many eco-bricks producers as possible. Simple production, cheap of raw materials and high demand will be attracted many people in becoming eco-bricks entrepreneur.

Please describe from where your Idea emerged

The idea emerged during brain storming with my friends that told me there was a small brick factory use plastic as their raw material. I came to the site and talk with the owner and after few talks we agree to collaborate to find more funding to boost production and sales.

Tell us about your work experience

Journalist, writer, eco-literacy enthusiast

Please describe your legal and organizational structure

Indonesia's Eco-literacy Foundation or Yayasan Ekoliterasi Indonesia focus on improving quality of environment through education

This inspired (1)

Protecting the balance of the environment by eliminating harmful waste project .
Protecting the balance of the environment by eliminating harmful waste project .

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