[Cob] plastic jugs charmaine's entry (Damon Howell)

[Dean Sherwin]

There is indeed a lot of discarded material that could be used to 
build with, and cob (earth in general) is a perfect matrix.  But 
there is a perceptual problem, and we in America the supposed leader 
in high consumption lifestyle, should show the way.  I remember from 
years ago, a well known alternative architect went to Chile with the 
mission to show them how to build with discarded material "You don't 
build your houses of rubbish and we are certainly not going to" was 
the response.  Or the head of a lager company - I think it may have 
been Heineken - became interested in sustainable architecture, as we 
call it now, and had a beer bottle designed that was squared off and 
had dimples in the glass (to get a better 'key' to mortar or 
whatever), so that it could be recycled as glass bricks - perfect for 
cob.  But his marketing people said it would give the wrong image so 
the idea was dropped.  Pity.
So the problems are often cultural rather than structural.  As we know.

At 03:00 PM 12/15/2009, you wrote:
>Charmaine, I also see most people refuse to use refuse. And that's
>unfortunate because our landfills here in America are sky high and
>growing. Why not build houses out of garbage? People smear cow dung
>all over their walls and does it indefinitely smell? No. Most garbage
>is recyclable paper, which can be soaked and used as plaster. Reminds
>me of the time I was telling my uncle about cob. He got all excited
>about the idea and said, "you could put anything you want to in there
>(talking about the cob) and once it dries it's still gonna be hard as
>a rock." He was thinking stuff like old bicycles, tools, worn out
>shoes, and maybe even his kid brothers annoying toys, but I told him
>if it will rot or rust, it's not a good idea to put it in the cob.



Dean Sherwin
LEED Accredited Professional