Souce: Plastic Bottle VillageSouce: Plastic Bottle Village

Environmentalist Robert Bezeau is attempting to construct an entire village using discarded plastic bottles.

The so-called Plastic Bottle Village, which is located on the island of Bocas del Toro, Panama, consists of structures including homes, a castle, a dungeon, an educational center and a museum, all composed of discarded plastic waste, most of which includes plastic bottles.

To create the structures, metal cages are packed with plastic bottles and the cages are then welded together with steel rebar. Those cage structures are then covered entirely in concrete.

A 100 m2 home in the eco-friendly village can be composed of as many as an estimated 16,000 plastic bottles, according to the Plastic Bottle Village website, a plastic bottle amount nearly equal to what an average individual might use in his or her lifetime.

The village structures are earthquake resistant according to its website and components of the structures can float in the event of a tsunami. Additionally, the bottles have an insulating effect in each of the structures, keeping the indoor temperatures 35° F cooler than outdoor temperatures.

The eco homes in the village, which are available for purchase, start at just under $20,000 each. Likewise, the plastic-bottle construction homes, including the plastic bottle castle, are available to rent beginning at just $90 a night.

Hoping to highlight the ways in which plastic waste can be reused and repurposed, Bezeau noted that plastic bottles can also be used to construct temporary emergency shelters following a disaster, to construct swimming pools and roads, and to build structures to house farm animals.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com