Brickgo x Project for Happiness 2021 by Khind Starfish Foundation

THE PROBLEM

Do you know that it can take up to 500 years for plastics to decompose? Once plastics are discarded by humans, the plastic wastes will stick around the environment for ages. 

Plastic not only can be harmful to our precious environment, it can be toxic to humans as well. Such harmful effects include the release of toxins from plastic wastes that can be harmful to the wildlife, environment, and human health. In addition, plastics also contribute to global warming and different types of pollution. 

The targeted community for the project, Taman Connaught, is a residential township in Cheras, with more than 1000 households living in that area. According to the survey, the local residents, shop owners, and students have stated that Taman Connaught has a poor condition of plastic pollution. Due to the excessive plastic waste that has worsen the condition of the environment, the local community do thinks that there is a need to curb the plastic waste issue.

THE SOLUTION

We would like to help the community to reduce plastic pollution in Taman Connaught by recycling and melting the plastic waste collected from that area into brick moulds to create useful and durable building blocks for constructing eco-friendly and functional facilities for the residents in Taman Connaught.

Brickgo helps in constructing structures without the help of cement to glue it together; it has a unique shape where it can support holding other bricks. It cuts down on the use of environmentally harmful concrete. The cement, which is used to produce concrete, is one of the most significant emitters of greenhouse gases because producing cement can result in the release of carbon dioxide; thus, contributing to global warming because of the heat the greenhouse gas absorbs while staying in the atmosphere. Therefore, Brickgo is able to help reducing the usage of harmful building materials.

Our Project Objectives:

• To promote plastic waste reduction and recycling act among the residents in Taman Connaught.
• To educate Taman Connaught residents, shop owners, and students to take care of their own waste at the source.
• To create awareness towards the dangers of plastic pollution to our environment.
• To produce useful and durable building blocks through the melting of plastic waste into brick moulds.
• To construct beneficial facilities such as animal rain shelters/food areas for stray animals or garbage/recycle bins for the public in Taman Connaught using recycled plastic bricks.
• To recycle plastic for the replacement of conventional and wasteful building materials.
• To create brick moulds, which allows the recycled plastic bricks to be duplicated for future construction.

THE IMPACT

The environment, as well as the population in Taman Connaught can benefit from the project when the level of plastic pollution drops down moderately throughout the process of recylcing and the formation of recyled plastic bricks. The level of plastic pollution can be measured through observing the condition of plastic waste disposal in Taman Connaught area. It is also expected that there are more households and individuals from that area to be more aware of the importance of plastic waste reduction and recycling. This can be measured through a post-project survey with the people from Taman Connaught.

In terms of the moulded bricks, the outcome of the project is to build at least 5 garbage/recycle bins for the public or 3 rain shelters/food areas for stray animals within the project timeframe. It can slowly be replicated and used as the replacement of conventional and wasteful building materials for some facilities within the area such as rain shelters and bus stops.

Goal Breakdown

Goal 1 - Brick Mould. Amount Needed: MYR390 per mould

Goal 2 - Melting Furnace. Amount Needed: MYR1,400.00

Goal 3 - Propane Gas. Amount Needed: MYR125.00

"Support Brickgo by tipping us a cent! Regardless of the amount, your act of kindness means a lot to the environment. Together, we get to spark a change for the better."