A group of pupils from Eqinisweni Secondary have transformed plastic trash into reusable bricks to make chairs for their school.

The school in Ivory Park, near Tembisa, has a serious shortage of tables and chairs, forcing some of the pupils to sit on the floor in class.

At the school yesterday, a group of pupils, their teachers and principal, Jabulani Kunene, were busy creating library benches from eco-bricks - made of 2lt bottles stuffed with plastic material.

The initiative started three months ago to deal with the shortage of chairs at the school. The pupils collected about 350 bottles to make the bricks.

Rita Groenwald from Roots and Shoots South Africa is the brains behind the project.

Groenwald said about 58 plastic bottles can make one adult chair and 29 can make one chair for a child.

Groenwald said they were teaching the pupils that one can make something beautiful out of trash.

Fhumulani Nyadzani, 15, a grade 9, said the project has been educational.

Another pupil, Katlego Motsweli, 19, said the project also helped them to deal with a serious problem of littering at the school.