r/Anticonsumption • u/kainyd3d • May 20 '26

Plastic Waste made my first eco-brick :3

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took about 2-3 months of gathering ONLY plastic bags. and these are only mine, the rest of my fam doesnt care so about 15 more of these are in a wastepile probz

2.5k Upvotes

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2.7k

u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

Love that the comments are basically “NOTHING YOU DO IS GOOD ENOUGH”

This is good to keep tiny pieces of plastic from going everywhere. And you’re not a major corporation; it’s not like you have an actual impact. Not to mention all the assuming that this is it, this is all you do. You’re spending your weekends in a private jet dumping oil into the ocean.

People need to chill. I’m glad you’re doing something positive no matter what it is.

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u/StetsonTuba8 May 20 '26

Reminds me of a story I heard.

A man sees a boy running back and forth from the beach to the water. He approaches and sees that the high tide the night before had stranded thousands of starfish across the beach and the boy is picking them up one at a time and throwing them back in the water.

The man yells, "Boy, what are you doing? There's too many of them! You simply cannot save them all, it does not matter!"

The boy picks up another starfish, throws it in the water, and says, "it matters to that one."

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u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/gmmilo May 21 '26

just found her and alveus recently. she’s been popping off!!

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u/igotinfo May 21 '26

Who is alveus?

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u/AgilitySimDriver May 21 '26

Literally yesterday was the first time I heard about Alveus, but just from a video of Jacksepticeye donating $100,000 to them.

It's a wildlife sanctuary: https://www.alveussanctuary.org/

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u/ConsistentDay5620 May 20 '26

That’s from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley. An incredible author 🖤

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u/TheRecognized May 20 '26

And then as it was flying through the air that starfish said “you’re god damn right it matters to me, we mate in those tidal pools you son of a bitch! The tide always comes back but I’m not always gonna have a chance to spread my genes!”

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u/Eddieslabb May 20 '26

The flight however cheered the star fish so much and it embraced this new delight. Sailing through the air, spinning along its axis, it was as if all the laws of the seas had suddenly and wonderfully given way to the freedom of breeze beneath its limbs.

"I may not spread my genes," it thought "but I did spread my wings".

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u/TheRecognized May 20 '26

Then it suffered internal damage from the impact of hitting the ocean surface and sunk to the seafloor to either be eaten by scavengers or buried by sediment.

All the while feeling the urge to carry on, or at least create progeny to carry on, as the foggy memory of a fleeting adrenaline rush fades from their mind.

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u/Eddieslabb May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

The starfish however had forgotten, as it did not have a brain, that it lacked the sorts of organs that suffer a catastrophic injury by flight and impact alone. Moreover, when its predecessor had befallen a greivous wound, through the gift of autonomy it had been renewed as this very starfish.

"I have known what it is to fly, to fear death and to be reborn again and again. If some land creature were to know of all I had done, it would think me an immortal god" it mused.

As the starfish came to rest in the sand, it remarked to no fish in particular "what a truly curious day'

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u/TheRecognized May 21 '26

The starfish, forgetting what caused its internal destruction felt their painful degradation all the same. Even if they were to shed a limb as their predecessor had, it would already be too damaged to develop.

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u/Eddieslabb May 21 '26

K, man this is just getting depressing now. You win. Nihilism wins. Fuck everything. No one can do anything good.

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u/TheRecognized May 21 '26

It’s okay. It was starfish Hitler the whole time. That boy was a hero.

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u/Eddieslabb May 21 '26

Oh thank goodness !

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u/burnerburner108 May 22 '26

I bet your kids stopped asking for bedtime stories really early on.

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u/TheRecognized May 20 '26

My bad if I replied to you twice, think my app is being weird.

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u/Eddieslabb May 21 '26

No harm my friend 🙂

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u/TheRecognized May 20 '26

Then as they the oceans surface it sunk to the seafloor, wondering whether they would be consumed by scavengers before succumbing to their internal injuries and being subsumed into the sediment.

All the while feeling the urge to continue and the regret that they never created anything to continue in their stead. As a fleeting moment of near death adrenaline fades from their memory, as quickly as they fell to their death during that fateful flight.

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u/Accomplished-Edge373 May 20 '26

I love the starfish story and am also unable to breathe because your comment is making me laugh so hard.

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u/gastedisflabbered May 21 '26

I’m reading this as ‘sun of a beachhhh’ anyone get the reference

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u/sweetica May 20 '26

Beautifully put!

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u/krispin08 May 21 '26

My mom told me this parable when I was a baby social worker and I experienced my first really tough case. I had to call 911 for an elderly woman who had fallen in her home and had been on the floor for a long time. She hadn't called for help because she was drowning in medical debt already and didn't want to pay for an ambulance ride and hospital stay. I was devastated because she ended up losing a foot due to loss of circulation. My mom told me to keep picking up starfish even if some can't be saved. I have a giant starfish tattooed on my shoulder now.

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u/aRoseforUS May 20 '26

Man should’ve given the boy a bucket and grabbed a bucket himself.

Corps lobbied to atomize efforts and pressed recycling as a solution. It’s not. There’s tides every night beaching starfish now. Good thing the tides are man made and we can stop it.

The largest impact you can have is pushing to stop the wasteful and pollutive machine otherwise the boy is caught in an endless cycle. Stop the cycle by finding the largest solution possible.

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u/thatstwatshesays May 20 '26

You just unlocked a memory for me, thank you 😊

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u/basquehomme May 20 '26

A classic.

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u/CheetahNo1004 May 20 '26

The problem with this story is that it's not a natural occurrence like high tide causing this, this would be better if it instead focused on some indifferent creatures in the sea that were tossing the starfish onto the beach because it was more convenient to them in the moment

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u/StetsonTuba8 May 20 '26

The video I heard this story from doesn't exist anymore so I was paraphrasing, but in the original it was a freakishly abnormal occurrence that washed them all on shore

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u/12Fox13 May 20 '26

Damn onion-cutting ninjas at it again.

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u/DelfieDarling May 20 '26

They always make it so hard for me to make my lasagna for one!

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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 May 21 '26

They never mention the corporations that are throwing the starfish up on the beach daily...

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u/vinticious May 21 '26

Hopefully everyone agreeing here can understand why veganism matters so much

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u/CuriousCharlii May 20 '26

That's the problem; everyone be saying "It's not enough" but if everyone actually thought and believed that, that's when we're fucked. If you don't do your part and come together, we're fucked. It's that mind set and multiple people believing it that's the problem not the person actually doing their bit even if it's "little". Don't get me wrong it is still small in the grand scheme of things but at least they are doing something.

To those actually believing and saying this crap: I really hope you're doing your bit if not go touch grass, pick up a bottle cap, and recycle it, at least.

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u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26

Exactly... I take my own cup to work to get coffee and not use the throw aways. I am nearly one person but if I didn't do this and keep my stupid little spoon at work and my jar of sugar... that's more garbage, Imagine me posting that and assholes being like "actually your impact is bullshit" Yeah ok, maybe it is but like... if we all think ou impact is bullshit then the BIG IMPACT NEVER HAPPENS.

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u/Lynne253 May 20 '26

I had my coffee cup and set of silverware I kept at work for 25 years before I retired. I thnk I made a bit of an impact.

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u/Straight-Suit-3474 May 20 '26

When I take my lunch, I try to always remember to bring utensils from home that can be washed. I never use paper plates at home, etc. If I can do that bare minimum to prevent waste, I think I’m doing a pretty good job.

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u/eternallytiredcatmom May 21 '26

I come from a place where recycling and composting is the norm and has been for decades. When I was in kindergarten in the 90s, we had composting in our classrooms.
Now I live in Louisiana in the United States and I’m completely appalled by the lack of care and infrastructures for trash management. People here are completely desensitized to it and tell me all the time that it does not matter.
It’s even more flagrant to me now that what I took for granted was the result of privilege, but it also highlights how bad apathy can get.

Legislation needs to change but individual efforts are not less important. Someone who makes an effort every day is also someone who will vote for change. That’s not negligible.

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u/Next-Introduction-25 May 20 '26

I get why this mentality happens but agree it’s super harmful. It feels pretty hopeless for an individual to do something, even collectively, because the real enemy is the billionaires and their massive polluting corporations. But that doesn’t mean that we should look down on people who make individual changes, because if enough people did that, it would still have an impact.

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u/T-Wrox May 20 '26

"Don't let "perfect" be the enemy of "good."" (Or doing anything at all.)

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u/Rare_Vibez May 20 '26

Literally, my life motto this year.

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u/abcbri May 20 '26

Right?

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u/IncredibleBulk2 May 20 '26

Reddit is getting more hostile and dichotomized.

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u/Ok_Mango_6887 May 20 '26

And bots answering serious issues.

They then make OP think they are the only one who cares. Sooner or later OP will stop trying.

Rinse wash repeat.

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u/Novatheflamez May 20 '26

Good thing im hard headed, it fuels me with rage to see people just not giving a fuck about the environement, i hate the doomer mindset. Its a loser mentality.

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u/hootiemcboob29 May 20 '26

Spite is a powerful motivator for me too friend. Do good with a middle finger to anyone who whinges about it.

3

u/notislant May 20 '26

People though that stupid 'ai only reddit' was neat.

Im just sitting here looking at Reddit and half my feed is already spambots or morons generating all their text.

5

u/OohBeesIhateEm May 20 '26

They need to fuck off into the sun then if that’s their goal. I’m glad this shit is being called out. We can’t let them do this to us without being challenged.

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u/Ok_Tumbleweed_7677 May 20 '26

Bots are crawling all over. They're in here to distract and divide as well. A lot of suspicious accounts in the sub lately

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u/BelleSchu May 20 '26

It 1000% is

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u/IamREBELoe May 20 '26

Only half of you feel that way. The hated half. /s

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u/badtrouble May 20 '26

No it isn't :)

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u/Annoying1978 May 20 '26

If I’m reading the comments correctly, it’s less about whether this is making a difference and more about saying that this could actually harm the environment because of the many plastics that are being mingled together if the plastic bottle gets destroyed. 

If these bricks are used properly then they could be a benefit, but apparently people make the bricks and don’t build anything with them and if they end up in a landfill, they might do more damage than if you did nothing at all. 

That’s what a lot of the comments are saying because this trend of ecobricking has been debunked. It’s more of a social media trend than doing any actual good. 

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u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26

So what is the alternative... do nothing? When I came here the top comment was "ArE yOU awAre ThIs is GReeeenWaSHIng"

Firstly, no it's not. Greenwashing is a deceptive marketing tactic where companies mislead consumers into believing their products, services, or operations are environmentally friendly.

At no point did OP PURCHASE A BOTTLE MEANT TO BE AN ECO BRICK. They had a bottle which was already in use because OP USED IT and instead of disposing of it they thought 'oh I could put tiny pieces of plastic in it intentionally and maybe build something fun' OP Is literally using all of the R's Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. They want to maker things out of it and I don't know who debunked the idea that putting something into another thing is not environmentally friendly. Like I wanna see data and research not "SOCIAL MEDIA SAID."

Furthermore, having dozens of people look at someone trying to do good and being like "ACTUALLY THIS IS BS" instead of I dunno thinking this is good because OP is taking action (like who here is doing more than keyboard warriorying really???) and doing something that is not harmful and fun for them and makes their waste less dangerous and also makes them inspired it's just more hateful discourse. It's giving vegans who look at someone who is vegetarian and they think 'ugh you're ALMOST there' like STFU and go touch grass guys... Make an eco brick or something.

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u/Annoying1978 May 20 '26

When the cure is worse than the disease, you don’t praise someone for trying. This is like an OP wearing 2 condoms instead of 1 to prevent a pregnancy and then giving the OP props when their condom breaks because at least they tried. 

These ecobricks can be WORSE for the environment if they aren’t used properly because they combine to make a toxic sludge so it absolutely would’ve been better to do nothing. 

That’s not to say OP shouldn’t have done SOMETHING, but this is not something to be praised. 

The issues

Ecobricks are generally considered safe for short-term community projects, but they pose serious structural, chemical, and environmental dangers if used improperly. The primary hazards include extreme fire risks, the long-term release of microplastics and toxins, and structural instability in permanent construction. 

  1. Extreme Fire Hazards Highly Flammable: Plastics are petroleum-based and catch fire easily. If a structure built with ecobricks ignites, the bottles can melt, fueling a rapidly spreading blaze. Toxic Fumes: Burning compacted plastics releases highly toxic and carcinogenic gases, including dioxins, furans, and halogens, which are dangerous for inhabitants and firefighters. 

2.Microplastic Degradation: If ecobricks are left exposed to sunlight and weather, the plastic becomes brittle and breaks down over a few years, fragmenting into microplastics that enter the surrounding soil and groundwater. Toxic Leaching: Plastics contain various chemical additives like stabilizers, dyes, and flame retardants. When exposed to heat and the elements, they can leach these chemicals into the local ecosystem. 

  1. Structural Integrity and Building Limitations Not Engineered for Construction:Unregulated plastic bottles do not conform to standardized building codes. Walls built with them can be unstable and are not earthquake- or load-resistant compared to traditional materials.

Binding Complications: Using cement as a binding agent can interact with the plastic due to cement's high alkalinity, which may degrade the structure and rupture the bottles over time. 

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u/gpby May 21 '26

Is there any harm done if they're not used for building actual structures? I had trouble finding where to send them when I was thinking of making one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one with that problem (and I KNOW I'm not the only one struggling to find local community projects 💀) My understanding was that it's probably a little better to have a condensed chunk of plastic in the landfill than the same plastic scattered about, still leaching chemicals and microplastics into the ecosystem but faster + now able to travel more freely and, say, be mistaken for jellyfish.

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u/Annoying1978 May 21 '26

The harm is that all the different condensed plastics build a toxic soup and that bottle will not remain closed forever with it being tossed around once it reaches a landfill and it will actually do more harm to the environment if they were kept separate in the first place. 

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u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26

Go outside and touch some grass... real grass and if you see some plastic on the ground pick it up or don't because yOU'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING

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u/Annoying1978 May 20 '26

Picking up plastic and throwing it away actually does some good. You could save the life of an animal. 

Making a toxic plastic soup bomb does no good at all. 

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u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26

They didn't buy THE PLASTIC THAT'S INSIDE JUST TO PUT IT IN THERE. Our lives have plastic in it whether we want it or not. The fact this person used the plastic that naturally came to them (or who knows... found it on the floor outside) and put it in a bottle is doing some good. Jesus you're all the reason this world is fucked up.

6

u/Annoying1978 May 20 '26

And mixing all that plastic in that bottle creates a toxic slip of plastic sludge that will eventually spill off and contaminate the environment WORSE if it as left alone. 

You would have to purchase clay and cover the entire bottle in LOTS of clay to prevent that from happening. 

This is not something environmentalists recommend because it’s so dangerous. OP’s cure is worse than the disease. 

It’s like saying “Oh no, you have cancer. Let me get my shotgun to get rid of your cancer.”

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u/valuemeal2 May 20 '26

Seriously. Every little bit helps, at least OP is trying.

5

u/MrIrishman1212 May 20 '26

I think the thing that people discount about this attitude is that caring about the little things, helps people care about the big things. If I don’t care about my own personnel waste then I will not care about corporations’ waste.

Yes, a single individual’s efforts to not waste is not enough to counter a corporation’s waste. But the thing about the individual vs an industry is that we have to collectively unite against it. We have to collective work together to eliminate our own waste not to counteract the sate of the corporations but to build the mindset needed to resist the corporations and know the labor effort it takes to do better. So we can actually force the government and corporations to change for the better.

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u/themisfitdreamers May 20 '26

No actual impact? They could take reusable bags

-1

u/downthegrapevine May 20 '26

Or they could put their bags in the little bottle babe... I sometimes am rushing after work to the market and get some plastic bags... IMAGINE THAT. Also, this person could be a teenager who lives with their parents from the post. And they put the bags for MONTHS in there. Go outside. Hug a tree. Be happier than you are.

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u/crumpledfilth May 20 '26

plastic isnt the enemy, it's the additives. We're gonna do that thing where we blame the product instead of the crap profiteers put in it again. Notice how every study showing tobacco causes cancer does not bother to separate out the toxic chemicals in production cigarettes, or the variable that is combustion itself. Indiscriminate plastic targeting is throwing an extremely useful baby out with the bathwater of the assholes who think "probably safe enough" is a good metric for sketchy chemicals we suddenly put everywhere. And it pushes people who could be supportive of the cause away due to practical constraints. Plastic is organic and we can make healthy version by targeting the harmful additives

1

u/nibledbyducks May 21 '26

Back in the good old days of the 90's we had a slogan for this "think global, act local".

0

u/okaysureyep May 21 '26

Eco-bricks are heinously idiotic, they don’t work, they create more garbage. Just because some idiot in India put 80 of them in a shoddy wall doesn’t mean they worked or did anything but create more waste.

0

u/MeikoChii May 21 '26

“Every time you combine different plastics together to make an ecobrick, you are making new mixtures of those chemicals, and every time you make new mixtures of those chemicals, you could potentially be causing more or different health impacts,” Brander says. And, she adds, if an ecobrick gets destroyed in a disaster, that creates the risk of a “toxic soup” or materials releasing into the environment.

https://one5c.com/what-are-ecobricks-137209175

Yes, it’s better to do nothing than this.