A Comparative Study between Various

Models of Eco-Brick and Hollow Blocks

A Research Paper Presented to

San Sebastian School, Inc.

Student Affairs Office

As a Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for

STEM Science Inquiry

By:

Earl Laurence P. Sy

OCTOBER 2020
 Introduction

What will we do to those plastics that are now widely scattered on every spot around the world?

According to a report by Sandra Laville, millions of plastic bottles are being bought around the world

every minute and the number will jump another twenty percent by 2021 and this could create an

environmental crisis if it is not taken seriously. We know that plastics last for four hundred fifty years

before these plastics decompose. Plastics have become the number one major problem in the

environment today and the improper disposal of this led to the oceans and fields. This study shows the

comparative effects of using eco-bricks and hollow-blocks as a building material, the disadvantages and

advantages of both products when used to build structures, and the significance and purpose of more

ecological product on our present-day life. This eco-brick is composed of plastic bottles filled with

single use plastic bags and a can be used like hollow blocks in building construction. The average

capacity of the bottle can take is about a bag of plastic. With these eco-bricks, those single used plastic

can be reused for another useful purpose. In this research the researchers introduced a method of making

eco-bricks by using small, single-serve plastic bottles instead of the big, multi-serve plastic bottles.

Background of the Study

This study was conducted in an effort to solve the worldwide problem of plastic waste through extensive

research of the usefulness and effectiveness of various types of eco-bricks as an alternative to

convenient hollow blocks and to show the possible effects it has on our planet as a whole. The

researchers decided to compare and study the various types of eco-bricks and hollow blocks to identify

the factors why it is not being used in making structures more often. Also, the researchers studied this

product to promote the idea of a “green city”

Statement of the Problem

A. General Problem

• What are the differences of eco-bricks and hollow-blocks in terms of their benefits and

effectiveness?

• What materials can be used to make a different type of eco-brick?

B. Specific Problem

• What materials can we use to make the eco-brick more durable?

• How durable are eco-bricks as building material against hollow blocks?

• What is the disadvantage and advantages of both products in terms of using it as a building

material?

• Why it is that eco-brick is not being used as building material as much as hollow blocks?

Review Related Literature and Studies

As stated by Charlotte, L. (2018) eco-brick isn't just something that only companies can make, but it

is something that anyone can get into as can be made under the comforts of your own home and it

only takes a couple of minutes to make. It is essentially a building material many like hollow blocks.

Eco-bricks are reusable and can be set to a density, which makes them a suitable building block for

virtually any construction. Eco-bricks can also be made out of plastic bottles filled with other non-

biological un-recyclables that are toxic to the environment when uncontained. Plastics usually break

down into tiny pieces and contaminates the area where it is in but by sealing away plastics inside
bottles, it prevents the build-up of toxic gasses emitted during the degradation of the plastic, such as

methane when exposed to sunlight, but unlike the plastics used to fill up the bottles, the bottles used

are composed of Polyethylene Terephthalate which makes the bottles have incredible longevity and

protect the contents from UV rays, regarded as a sustainable way to reuse non-biodegradable plastic

waste as plastic is a long-lasting and durable material and thus, eco-bricks are also recyclable

because the bottles used in construction can be reclaimed from whatever's left of the building or

product it used to be. According to Kevin, G.R. (2019) plastics take four hundred fifty to one

thousand years to decompose but the need to wait for plastic waste to perish may soon become

irrelevant because of recent innovations that deals with managing plastic waste. Plastic can be used

to build a community and this has been shown to be possible as many structures like houses have

already been made out of plastic through other forms of plastic building material, and there is more

to come, as companies have already been established which focuses on using plastic for

construction, and more people are starting to see the potentials of this product. According to Hoque,

M.N., et al (2016) these plastic bottles are light and can be better against earthquakes due to the

compaction of filling materials in the bottle. Eco-bricks are highly versatile because it can be used to create

all sorts of things like modular furniture, garden spaces, walls and even full-scale buildings and can be filled

with a variety of materials but usually, non-biodegradable waste like plastic, is used. Houses can be made

with walls constructed out of eco-bricks which bears one-third of the weight while the clay and cement

mixture used to hold the bottles carry two-thirds of the weight. Since these houses are made with locally

sourced material they are far less cheap compared to conventional houses. According to Giri, S.V.(2018) The

oldest building material in the world is clay brick and now-a-days, it is one of the most common masonry

unit used as building material in the construction industry. Given its high demand, it becomes an

environmental concern because we consume about three hundred fifty million tons offertile soil and 25

million tons of coal annually. Eco-bricks offer an alternative to clay bricks as it takes material we generally

consider as waste and turns it into something useful. Based on Prof. Kharwade, A.M. (2017) Because of the

chemicals used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, and the improper use and disposal of it, plastic
 bottles are increasingly becoming a menace to the environment. At present, the environment around us is

completely filled with toxic plastic wastes that pose a serious threat to nature. Plastic has a really long

lifespan so perhaps if it is used for something again after it is done with its original purpose, we won't have

to throw it away. Plastic's long lifespan helps in making sure that products made from eco-bricks lasts for a

very long time. It is also a cost efficient way of making structures because there is an abundance of plastic

everywhere. As stated in a research paper by Harshit Varsney (2016) these concrete hollow blocks are more

useful due to its lightweight and the most important feature is ease of ventilation. The concrete hollow

blocks are made out of mixture of cement, sand and stone chips. It reduces cement in masonry work and

reduced the cost of construction. It is also easy to mass produce as an automated press can produce up to

2000 blocks per hour. Based on a study done by Global Shelter Cluster Organization (2014) Hollow blocks are

also easy to install and this results in relatively low installation cost on semi-skilled labourers. CHB walls are

very weak against lateral loads (pushing or pulling 9 forces from typhoon or earthquake). Adding steel

reinforcing bars vertically and horizontally inside the CHBs can increase their resistance to lateral loads.

According to Manisha et al. (2017) the requirement of housing is increasing nowadays due to the demand of the

increasing population of the people in our society. This leads to the imbalance between available construction

material and their increasing demand for the creation of houses and infrastructures. Based on his research, out

of 5 discarded bottles only 1 bottle is sent to the recycle bin. These PET eco-bricks help in reducing CO2 that is

released during manufacturing of convenient hollow blocks. These eco-bricks can lead to a sustainable

construction. By their study, having the positive results of their experimentation they have concluded that the

eco-brick is 20 times stronger than the clay brick and hollow blocks. They have found out that these bricks are

bullet proof and these can be used as a construction material for building houses in the areas that are prone to

attacks. These bricks are light in weight but very dense when used as constructing material. It is easy to make

and provides greater durability and strength properties. As stated by Jonathan T. et al (2014) on their

Experimental Characterization of PET Bottle Bricks, they have tested the compressive strength, sound insulation,

and light transmission of it. The dension compressive testing machine is used to test the durability of an eco-

brick. As a result, the eco-brick showed good resistance to the compression force applied; displaying values of

up to 40kN (kiloNewton). The values 10 accumulated in eco-brick resistance are the same as concrete cubes.
They have showed that eco-bricks are resources that can be used as a constructing material numerous

applications. These bricks match the compressive strength of a basic concrete brick. The advantage of these

bricks is that they have lightweight properties that would reduce the cost of transportation if necessary.

According to Nitin G. et al (2016) In order to deal with the major problem of the world which is disposing non-

biodegradable substances the concept of eco-brick have become trending. In their study they have indicated the

disadvantages and advantages of the eco-bricks when used to constructing structures. We all know that plastic

bottles can last as long as 300 years span. With this, being un-destructible and un-decomposable can be its

disadvantage because the more that there are these unused eco-brick it can be considered as a waste. Some of

the advantages that they have stated are: eco-bricks are non-brittle or cannot be easily destroyed, easy to

manufacture or build, and it absorbs abrupt shock load. Using eco-bricks in construction of structures can

reduce up to 33% of its cost. On their case study, they presented the Plastic Bottle School, San Pablo, Philippines

that was built by the Illac Diaz and Shelter Foundation. The foundation used 1.5 and 2 liter bottles that they

made as eco-bricks and the results are actually three times stronger than concrete. Based on Muyen, et al (2016)

the bottle brick is such an invention that gains momentum as a waste reduction strategy. The houses that are

built with other forms of eco-bricks are labeled as more durable, earthquake resistant, low cost, naturally

insulated and environmental friendly. They have found out that the compressive 11 strength of eco-bricks

increased because of its size. With the strength and relatively low cost of these bricks for construction, it suits to

be a very successfully construction material of choice for Bangladesh. According to Mojtaba V.S., et al (2013) the

walls that are built using eco-bricks are lighter than those that are built with by brick and block, and that makes

the building show a good response on earthquake. The compaction of the filling materials in each bottle makes

the building twenty times more resistant. With this property, it gains a good construction ability. They have

found out that eco-bricks show a high flexibility which made the building's performance higher against the

expected load since the plastic bottles are not fragile. These bricks can cause a green construction because it

saves energy and resources. Based on a study by Bronius J, et al (2013) it is typical of highly hollow concrete

blocks to have small thickness as well as area of the web and the shell; therefore, big compressive stresses

appear in the bed joints. The research revealed that failure of the hollow block masonry specimens started from

the failure of the bed joints. Big transverse block deformations of the wall flat were observed during the test,
stumble of the shell was also noticed. Shells were detached from the web and sudden failure (crumbling) took

place, rupture load made up about 80% of breaking load. According to Xinlei Yang, et al (2018) Hollow block

failure under compression is usually due caused by a tension crack that propagates through the blocks and

mortar of the direction of the applied force. Majority of these fails happen at the bed joint where the middle

block slides relatively to the left and right blocks

Hypothesis

A. Alternative Hypothesis

Eco-bricks can be used as building material as sturdy as hollow blocks and it has more beneficial

features.

B. Null Hypothesis

Eco-bricks fail to be effective as hollow blocks because it is not sturdy enough and cannot be used as a

reliable building material.

Definition of Terms

Building Material – is any material that is used for construction purposes.

Durability – the ability to withstand wear, pressure or damage

Drop Test – method of testing a prototype or experimental product by dropping weights on it

Ecological – relating to or concerned with the relation of living organisms to one another to their

physical surroundings

Green city – a concept of urban planning relying on the ecosystem services that green infrastructure can

supply
Hollow Blocks – a concrete masonry unit is a standard size rectangular block used in building

structures.

Non-biodegradable – not capable of being broken down by the action of living organisms

Plastic Waste –accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth’s environment

Polyethylene terephthalate- sometimes written poly(ethylene terephthalate)), commonly abbreviated

PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the

polyester family and is used in fibers for clothing, containers for liquids and foods

III. Population, Sample, and Sampling

The population includes the researchers who made the product, conducted the experiments, as well as

analyzed the results of the test. The sample includes the eco-brick which was made by putting pieces of

plastic inside a Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle tightly and sticking these bottles with each other

to create a block of plastic bottles which functions similar to hollow block. Sampling involved using
both eco-bricks and hollow blocks to make a bench out of cement which were tested for their strength

through undergoing a drop test where a range of objects were dropped and were checked for the results.

IV. Data Source and Collection Methods

The data was gathered through careful observations and analyzing as the test was being performed. The

researchers made sure to measure every part of the test, including the different lengths variation and

weight variation between objects, carefully as to ensure that the test results were accurate. Everything

was captured in video so that the test can be replayed and studied again and photographs were taken.

V. Data Analysis

The data was analysed using a formula to find the measurement of force applied to the product. The

formula used was W= Mgh d wherein W= Work equal to M=Mass multiplied by g=Gravity (9.8m/s2)

multiplied by the H= Height from the tip of the object to the ground divided by d= distance travelled

from the tip of the object to the ground to be dropped on the surface of the bench. In the equation the

unit of the product is in Newton (N). The unit will be expressed as kN or kiloNewton where in

1kN=1000N so it will be converted by dividing it by 1000. The formula was based on “How to

Calculate Force of a Falling Object” by Lee Johnson, 2018. The researchers used the formula to get the

force applied. The figures were presented in table to better illustrate the results from the test and results

where compared and contrasted with each other.

To rate every tests we conducted, we based on the rating table by George Hearn in his book Bridge

Inspection Practices.