Brazil has a low percentage of recycled container glass due to multiple factors, such as inadequate waste collection and recycling infrastructure, low public awareness about recycling's significance, and insufficient laws to promote it. In addition, the country faces high levels of homelessness and inadequate housing. As a result, an increasing number of builders are exploring repurposing glass bottles as a construction material for walls, occasionally incorporating them into traditional earthen building techniques. Therefore, this paper investigates the potential of prefabricated earthcrete bricks that integrate glass container bottles for the construction of structural load-bearing walls for affordable housing in Brazil while at the same time reducing pollution, enhancing aesthetics, and promoting environmental friendliness. Initially, the mechanical behaviour of the container glass bottles in earth bricks is investigated through FEM modelling. Subsequently, prototypes are made and tested in the laboratory, revealing a compressive strength between 8.21 and 11.40 MPa. From these findings, it is concluded that reusing glass bottles for the construction of structural walls capable of supporting small-scale structures could be feasible.@en

Container glass is omnipresent and reuse can be observed all around the world. It can even be reused for the construction of structural components for buildings of which several examples exist around the world. However, research on the reuse of glass for structural components seems lacking. Therefore, this paper investigates the potential of reusing glass bottles for the construction of structural columns. Firstly, the compression strength of artificially abraded glass bottles was investigated in compression tests, revealing a compression strength between 10 and 20 kN. Secondly, alternative assemblies of multiple glass bottles were tested in compression, to determine their suitability for constructing a column. Finally, an exemplary column prototype constructed of glass bottles is presented. From the findings it is concluded that it is feasible to reuse glass bottles for the construction of structural columns that could carry small scale structures.@en