One of our volunteers tells her experience with the eco-brick:
‘Before my visit to Santa Teresa, I had never heard of an eco-brick; however, it was only a matter of time until I was surrounded by discussions and sights of eco-bricks on the beach. An eco-brick is a large plastic bottle filled with small pieces of non-recycable trash, such as chip bags and cigarette butts. These bricks help build things for the community. For example, eco-bricks are being used to build new classrooms in surrounding towns near Santa Teresa.’
‘It is really nice to see so many people share the same passion of keeping the beaches clean while giving back to the community. I learned a lot about eco-bricks. My friends and I had an active roll in the creation and distribution of eco-bricks at beach entrances. I was surprised to see how quickly the eco-bricks filled with trash. It was really nice to see how other people in the community, locals and tourists, participate in the project. People help by filling designated eco-bricks located on the beach or by filling their own bottle and dropping it off at the specific drop-off locations.’
‘After the completion of my first eco-brick, I was shocked by the amount of trash on the beach. Having the task of looking for and collecting trash made me really pay attention to how much litter there was. Most of this litter washes in from the ocean, which makes me think about how much trash there must be in the ocean. It is really sad to see how poorly we treat the environment and endanger wildlife.’
‘The eco-brick project of Santa Teresa provides the opportunity to care for the environment and help protect the beaches. It helped me to see that with a little bit of help from each person, we can remove a lot of trash from the ocean and beaches. This is beneficial not only for the environment, but also for people visiting the beaches. I especially like how the eco-bricks are created completly by man-power, no machines are needed for recycling these items. Unlike many other recycling processes that use fuel, eco-bricks only benefit the environment, they have no negative side affects. I think the eco-brick project of Santa Teresa provides hope for environmental recovery and I feel lucky to have been a participant. It feels good to do my part to protect the environment.’