Used plastic bottles become ‘bricks’ of a house

Engineering students find a novel way to reuse plastic waste

The students of the St. Thomas Institute for Science and Technology in Kazhakuttam in front of the house they built.

A group of civil engineering students have joined hands to design a low-cost house that provides an easy option for the reuse of plastic bottles.

The final-year students of the St. Thomas Institute for Science and Technology in Kazhakuttam have collaborated for a project wherein they have experimented by replacing bricks with disposed plastic bottles to construct a 10-sq ft hexagonal structure that is 2.4 m high. The project has been undertaken as part of an exhibition that was organised by the college in connection with a three-day national seminar on environmental sustainability.

According to college Principal Usha Thomas, who is also the head of the department of civil engineering, the difficulties associated with disposing of plastic bottles and the need for low-cost housing led to the idea of constructing the

Kuppi Veedu (bottle house).

“Despite hearing of several practices seen across the globe, we still have not found an effective and sustainable solution for getting rid of plastics that have become an ecological menace. At the same time, society continues to face the issue of inadequate housing, especially for economically backward sections. It is high time we explored options that made constructive use of our obstacles to our advantage,” Dr. Thomas said.

Decent strength

The

Kuppi Veedu involves placing plastic bottles filled with soil and keeping them together using plain cement concrete. The corrugations on the bottles apparently improves bonding, when compared to the plain-surfaced bricks, says Dr. Thomas.

According to her, the structure has decent strength with a durability of at least six years. It has a thatched roof with dried palm leaf and hay. Besides, triangular arrangements of PVC pipes function as windows. The project turned out to be one of the attractions of the exhibition that also had stalls set up by Indian Space Research Organisation, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, Priyadarshini Planetarium, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Coir Board, Kerala State Electricity Board, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., and Keltron, among other establishments.