Discarded plastic bottles from bottled water and other beverages have become an eye sore in many African countries and efforts to recycle them barely scratch the surface, however there may be another solution capable of solving two African problems at once.

A youth group in Tanzania were approached with the exciting task of constructing a house out of plastic bottles. Ali Rajab and Ms Tima, members of the Tanga-based Best Camp Group, an Out of School Youth Group formed in 2011,  said members of the group didn’t believe it was possible until it was actually happening.

“We finally believed that waste bottles can be turned into houses and I now have the ability to advise anybody who wants to build such a house because I have taken part, physically, in building it,” Ali said in an interview with the Tanzania Daily News.

A total of 3 450 bottles were collected by members of the group for the construction of the house. Out of the total 3 450 bottles, 1 200 were small ones and 2 250 were bigger ones.

According to experts, bottles have several advantages over bricks and other construction materials, including being low cost, being non- Brittle – (Unlike bricks.) and their ability to absorb abrupt shock loads. Since they are not brittle, they can take up heavy loads without failure.

The bottles offer other advantages too such as being bio-climatic and re-usable, you also use less construction material and it is easy to build.

Another African country which has benefitted from the use of plastic bottles in construction is Nigeria. An initiative by the Development Association for Renewable Energies (DARE) – an NGO based in Nigeria – saw the construction of a two-bedroom bungalow entirely out of plastic bottles.

Although many in the area were doubtful when the project began construction in June last year, the nearly complete home is bullet and fireproof, earthquake resistant, and maintains a comfortable interior temperature of 17 degrees Celsius year round.

Hundreds of plastic bottles were filled with sand and then linked together at the neck by an intricate network of string. The bottles were then strategically laid and packed down with a combination of mud and cement, creating a building material that DARE claims is stronger than cinder blocks.