Plastic bottle housing

A group of 11 students at the University of Nottingham have come together to create a social enterprise that will provide vulnerable communities in Nepal with safe, affordable housing made from recycled plastic bottles.

Many regions of Nepal were greatly affected by the earthquake in 2015; the students are aiming to tackle the urgent need for safe and affordable housing for those who lost everything.

First of its kind

Bottle by Bottle operates as part of Enactus Nottingham, a not-for-profit, student-led organisation that exists within the University of Nottingham.

Enactus students work to transform the lives of people in need through the power of business, focusing on impact rather than profit. They do this by setting up social enterprises that provide employment and promote social and environmental good.

Bottle by Bottle is the only student-led social enterprise of its kind, and it’s embarking on a project has never been implemented before.

Buildings made from one-off plastic bottles have been constructed, but Bottle by Bottle’s aim is to develop the concept into a sustainable social enterprise that will empower people and change lives for many years to come.

A win-win-win solution

The project addresses three main problems identified by the students: the economic demand for sustainable jobs in underdeveloped communities; the social need for more safe and affordable housing in remote communities and the environmental issues associated with the vast amount of plastic wasted each year through single-use bottles.

For Bottle by Bottle, the solution is to reduce plastic waste in Nepal by recycling PET bottles into construction materials that can be used to build houses, while also providing employment and education to create a more sustainable future for individuals and communities.

Members of the local community will be employed to fill plastic bottles with soil, sand and other plastic waste, and Bottle by Bottle will work with local construction companies to implement our sustainable building process to provide safe homes – at a third of the cost of using conventional building techniques.

Bottle by Bottle will also teach about the harmful effects of unsustainable plastic waste management; the project invests profits back into communities to ensure multi-level, continued environmental benefits.

Bottle houses

Bottle by Bottle’s unique construction technique involves filling PET bottles with sand, then tying them together with string and securing them with mortar and wire. This method has been recognised as earthquake resistant from other one-off builds around the world and has been reviewed by Lungfish Architects.

To test the technique, a full-scale shelter was built in the Department of Architecture at the University of Nottingham. The mini project helped the team understand the on-site processes, the challenges they may face out in Nepal and the cost and time requirements of such an ambitious project.

The response in Nepal

Following the successful prototype build, five members of Bottle by Bottle conducted a two-week research trip in Nepal. With help and support from Live to Love, the team met with suppliers, explored the site in Panchkhal and met the woman for whom they will build the first prototype house.

The aim of the trip was to confirm that this modern form of construction would be something rural communities in Nepal would accept. The team received a very positive response from families, NGOs and organisations.