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Kenyan Engineer Wins 2020 Africa Young Champions of the Earth Award for Creating Bricks Made of Plastic
Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan engineer, created bricks made of plastic that are 7 times stronger than concrete. The engineer sought ways to recycle the plastic that pollutes the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
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According to the engineer, she was tired of watching the street sweepers trying to collect all the plastic in the city. And it was worth it, as in addition to contributing to the environment, the creation of the bricks earned her the 2020 Africa Young Champions of the Earth Award, recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme.
What Are Plastic Bricks Made Of?
Nzambi, being a materials engineer, created bricks made solely from plastic waste and sand. The highlight is the material’s resistance, which tends to be 7 times stronger than concrete. Furthermore, it was the engineer herself who developed the machinery used to manufacture the plastic bricks.
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The material is taken to furnaces at high temperatures, and then heated and mixed with sand. This mixture of plastic and sand is molded through a hydraulic machine, capable of producing a variety of paving bricks. The bricks created by the engineer can come in different colors, shapes, and thicknesses, costing approximately US$ 7.7 (R$ 43.95 in direct conversion) per square meter.
Engineer Nzambi Developed a Startup
The engineer created Gjenge Makers in 2018, a startup focused entirely on reusing waste that could harm the planet. This waste comes from companies that would discard low and high-density polyethylene plastic that could not be recycled or processed. Currently, the startup has already employed over 110 people, being able to produce more than one thousand five hundred bricks per day.
Since its founding three years ago, Nzambi’s company has recycled more than 20 tons of plastic that would have been discarded by companies. According to her, the current goal is to triple the current production and offer this same solution to other countries on the African continent.
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