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10 June 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Anita Venter
According to Dr Anita Venter, eco-bricks help prevent further environmental degradation, a theme often highlighted by World Environment Day.

Students filling plastic bottles with tightly packed wrappers, chips packets, and cling wrap until they are sturdy may not look like revolutionaries, but that is exactly what they are. This Eco-Bricks initiative is a grassroots effort that transforms plastic waste into construction material, sparking environmental change from the ground up. From there, the possibilities multiply – from benches to buildings, and from awareness to action.

It is not just about just stuffing bottles; it is about shifting mindsets.

Dr Anita Venter, Lecturer in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State (UFS), believes eco-bricks directly address the urgent need for solutions to plastic pollution. “By taking plastic out of the waste stream and giving it a new, useful life, we're actively participating in ecosystem restoration and preventing further environmental degradation, a theme often highlighted by World Environment Day.”

However, the Eco-Bricks project is doing more than managing waste. “Beyond this practical application, it serves as a powerful community development tool, empowering individuals to take control of waste management and fostering a vital environmental consciousness.”

And while we can dream of a plastic-free world, Dr Venter is grounded in today’s realities. “So, my approach is that I'd rather have plastic contained safely within a bottle – repurposed in a regenerative way – than seeing it break down into nano-plastics, poisoning our earth. This project is about finding practical solutions within our current reality.”

 

A no-cost solution 

Dr Venter does not lead from a podium; she is mentoring from the sidelines. “I'm primarily involved in mentoring our student champions. They are the real drivers, facilitating the eco-brick training peer-to-peer. It's about empowering them to spread the knowledge and skills, rather than me being the sole instructor. It’s a beautiful ripple effect.”

And ripple it does. “These initiatives continue in their communities, and that truly warms my heart,” she says. The students are taking the lessons home, creating a chain reaction of action and awareness. “It’s not just about building bricks; it’s about inspiring continued action.”

The concept’s biggest success story? Thousands of eco-bricks being used by the Natural Building Collective in the Western Cape for formalised buildings. Proof that what was started by students can reshape entire landscapes.

“I see eco-bricks as an incredible community development tool. What’s beautiful about it is that it’s a no-cost activity. Anyone who wants to start a community development initiative can pick it up, and they immediately reap the dual benefits of cleaning their environment and taking control of their own waste management. It’s very empowering on a grassroots level.”

 

Regeneration starts here

Dr Venter, who has been part of the initiative since 2013, sees it as integral to her broader environmental work as climate activist focusing on research related to housing, informal settlement upgrading, culture, socio-ecological development, regenerative design, and art. She is quick to connect plastic pollution to the deeper ecological crisis we face. “Plastic is a monumental environmental problem, rapidly leading to biodiversity collapse, which I honestly believe is a far more pressing issue than even the climate crisis itself. It’s stark – babies are now born with plastic in their tiny bodies, and these microplastics are found in every human organ. It’s a pervasive crisis.” 

With students and community leaders now steering the project, she is hopeful about the future: “The beauty of something so accessible and practical is that it doesn’t need top-down direction; it flourishes from the ground up as people recognise its value and adopt it.”

Dr Venter’s commitment to making waste meaningful goes well beyond the Eco-Bricks initiative. In the project What Remains Through Time, Slowness and Stillness, waste is transformed into meaningful art, and communities step into the role of co-creators. 

Using post-natural building techniques, the project incorporates both waste and natural materials, marrying ecological restoration with social transformation. Sites such as the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein National Hospital, and Sekoele Holistic Living Arts Centre serve as hubs where participants can engage hands-on, learning new skills while strengthening their communities.

According to Dr Venter, the main activities at Oliewenhuis are from June to September this year. Here, the focus is on community collaboration and regenerative art that goes far beyond constructing physical spaces. “We’re aiming to break down social barriers and make art truly accessible and inclusive within public spaces. It’s as much about building community as it is about building structures,” she says.

So, what can you do?

Start where you are. Join an eco-brick or art-for-regeneration initiative. “Go beyond sustainability! We need to regenerate, to ‘renew, restore, revitalise’,” says Dr Venter. Attend a training event. Share what you learn. “That’s how we create real, lasting change – through shared knowledge and empowered action.”

News Archive

Competition can assist with transformation
2008-06-04

At the announcement of the winners of the transformation competition were, from the left, front: Ms Khani Seatile, Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the School of Management, Ms Charlotte Gallego, Ms Debbie Packwood; back: Mr Valentine Ndhlela and Mr Roger Potgieter.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

     

Competition can assist with transformation

The School of Management of the University of the Free State (UFS) held a transformation competition amongst its MBA and BML students. The winners were announced at a function that was held on the Main Campus of the university in Bloemfontein this week.

Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the School of Management, said: “The competition gave the students the opportunity to apply their expertise and knowledge and in this way they could add value to the university’s challenge to manage the transformation process effectively and to the benefit of all.” In the competition students had to provide recommendations to the management of the UFS on the effective management of the transformation process at the institution.

The winners in the MBA category were Ms Charlotte Gallego and Mr Roger Potgieter. In the BML category Mr Valentine Ndhlela, Ms Khani Seatile and Ms Debbie Packwood were the winners. The winners can attend either a conference on knowledge, culture and change at organisations in the United Kingdom or a conference on entrepreneurship in Ireland. This prize includes air fare, accommodation and the registration fee for the conference. They also get a 10%-bonus mark in a module of their choice.

Some of the suggestions made by the students include:

The use of the Reitz incident as an empowering tool for skills development for all staff to participate in and not only the previously disadvantaged communities.

Another suggestion was that it is not enough to acknowledge people’s issues involved in organisational change and restructuring in an organisation. Management must be equipped to deal with these challenges. In order to ensure long-term survival, the university must develop skills in strategic transformation.

One of the students also suggested the displaying of notice boards in student residences to enhance unity and shared values, using the slogan “We are all human beings no matter what we are”.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel:  051 401 2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
4 June 2008

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