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
The West African country has a huge waste problem. Only five percent of plastic is sold for recycling, and this job is primarily done by women. Unfortunately, this pays them far too little. At the same time, 1.6 million children and youth in Côte d’Ivoire are not attending school. UNICEF saw this as an opportunity to fix two issues. The factory buys the plastic waste directly from the women (at a fair price) and processes it into building blocks for classrooms. Through collaborations with partners and sustainable solutions, UNICEF offers women and youth in Côte d’Ivoire hope for the future. UNICEF also train (young) mothers and youth about safe storage and disposal of plastic waste. At the recycling plant, we buy the plastic waste directly from the women for a fair price. The plant processes the plastic waste into building blocks, which are used to build new classrooms.
Sustainable Development Goals
As a UNICEF Business Buddie, we contribute to the 3 different SDGs . With the Plastic Bricks project, these are Goal 4: Quality Education; Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
1 Oasus water bottle sold = 1% to Unicef Plastic Bricks
The problem
Only five percent of the huge amount of plastic waste in the Ivory Coast is recycled mostly by women and youth from the poorest communities. They collect the plastic waste and sell it on the black market. These women are underpaid and treated as misfits in their own communities. The mothers among them are unable to afford to send their children to school. For this reason, among others, two million children in Côte d’Ivoire do not attend school. The waste problem is especially present in the poorest communities. The stored plastic waste pollutes groundwater. Contamination blocks the water drainage. This creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes, bacteria and parasites that cause malaria, diarrhoea and cholera.
What does UNICEF do
UNICEF trains (young) mothers and youth in the collection, safe storage and disposal of plastic waste. They also receive entrepreneurship training so they can start their own businesses. This teaches them to charge a fair price for recycling plastic and to do so with a direct buyer. Currently, they receive 20 percent of the market price through middlemen on the black market. In a fair situation, they would receive 80 to 90 percent of the market price from a direct buyer. In late 2019, UNICEF opened a recycling plant in Youpougon. Here they buy the plastic waste directly from the women for a fair price. The plant processes the plastic waste into building blocks, which are used to build new classrooms. By buying the waste directly, it no longer needs to be stored in communities. This is how UNICEF creates a cleaner environment and prevent deadly diseases.
See how fast the construction of a Plastic Bricks school is!
This timelapse shows how quickly they built a school from recycled plastic waste. It is a win-win situation for children, the local community and the environment. A win-win-win situation: for children, the local community and the environment.