UNICEF ‘Plastic Bricks’
As a UNICEF Business Buddie, we support UNICEF by donating 1% of every Oasus water bottle we sell. We wanted to contribute to and support the sustainable Plastic Bricks project in Ivory Coast, where plastic waste is recycled into building blocks for classrooms.
UNICEF ‘Plastic Bricks’
1 Oasus water bottle sold = 1% to Unicef Plastic Bricks
A brick for the future
Here at Eurobottle, we are committed to supporting UNICEF for a better future. With every sale of an Oasus water bottle, Eurobottle donates 1% of the proceeds, contributing to UNICEF’s project that recycles plastic waste into building bricks for classrooms in Ivory Coast. This organisation both supports women and gives children access to education.
Plastic Bricks in Ivory Coast
Plastic Bricks is a sustainable project that recycles plastic into building blocks for classrooms in Ivory Coast. The West African country has a huge waste problem. Only five per cent of plastic is sold for recycling, mainly by women. Unfortunately, this yields far too little for them. At the same time, 1.6 million children and young people in Ivory Coast do not go to school. The UNICEF factory purchases plastic waste directly from the women and processes it into building blocks. Through collaborations with partners and sustainable solutions, UNICEF offers women and young people in Ivory Coast hope for the future. UNICEF trains mothers and young people in collecting, safely storing and processing plastic waste. At our recycling factory, we buy the plastic waste directly from the women for a fair price. The factory processes the plastic waste into building blocks, which are used to build new classrooms.
1 Oasus water bottle sold = 1% to Unicef Plastic Bricks
The problem
The waste pollution, poverty, injustice and lack of education in the Ivory Coast is a massive problem. The stored plastic waste pollutes the groundwater. The build-up also blocks the water drainage. These issues create a breeding ground for mosquitoes, bacteria and parasites that can cause malaria, diarrhoea and cholera.
The women and young people who collect and sell the waste are usually from the poorest communities, they’re underpaid and often treated as outsiders. In addition, they cannot afford to send their children to school. This is one of the reasons why nearly two million children in Ivory Coast do not go to school.
What does UNICEF do
UNICEF trains (young) mothers and young people in collecting, safely storing and processing plastic waste. They also trained on entrepreneurship, to set up their own companies. Here they’re taught to ask a fair price for recycling plastic from a direct buyer. They currently receive 20 per cent of the market price through black market intermediaries. In a fair situation, they would receive 80 to 90 per cent of the market price from a direct buyer. At the end of 2019, UNICEF opened a recycling plant in Youpougon. Here we buy the plastic waste directly from the women for a fair price. The factory processes the plastic waste into building blocks to build new classrooms. By purchasing the waste directly, it no longer needs to be stored in communities. By doing this, UNICEF provides education and creates cleaner living environments that prevent fatal diseases.
See how fast the construction of a Plastic Bricks school is!
In this timelapse, you can see how quickly they are building a school in Ivory Coast, made from recycled plastic waste building blocks. Win-win-win situation: for the children, local community and environment.