Asia’s first school to be built out of recycled plastic Eco-Blocks serves as a model for a rebuilding program in Lombok following earthquakes in 2018. The earthquake-resistant five-classroom school was built in just five days in June by a local and international team in Taman Sari village, Mataram district, Lombok, an island rocked by a series of major earthquakes in 2018 that killed 563 people and displaced more than 417,000. 

 

Rebuilding has often been limited to traditional bricks and mortar, but the recycled plastic blocks offer a cheaper and more sustainable solution for the huge relief effort needed to rebuild schools across Lombok. Rebuilding has often been limited to traditional bricks and mortar, but the recycled plastic blocks offer a cheaper and more sustainable solution for the huge relief effort needed to rebuild schools across Lombok. Indonesia is the world’s second-largest plastic polluter, and it is hoped the Eco-Block solution will help plastic waste management at a grassroots level.

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Written by: Fraser Morton