The Business of a Kenyan Woman Turns Recycled Plastic Into Bricks.

Posted on : Friday , 3rd February 2023

Nairobi, Kenya's capital, is home to the startup Gjenge Makers, which was founded by Nzambi Matee. Her company turns plastic garbage into five to seven times more durable bricks than concrete. Matee not only founded the business, but she also created the machinery used to make the bricks. She receives free low- and high-density polyethylene and polypropylene plastic from nearby packing facilities to make strong building materials.She sources waste that other people can no longer process or recycle. Matee therefore stops tonnes of plastic waste from being dumped in landfills all around the nation. She wants to grow her company by bringing on a larger manufacturing line.

Her company heats the plastic polymer and blends it with sand to create a range of distinct paving stones. The polymer, which is trash that can no longer be processed, comes from a variety of products, including milk and shampoo bottles, sandwich or cereal bags, flip-top lids and buckets.

She remarked, "There is waste that they cannot recycle or treat any longer. What we get is that." Gjenge Makers can produce building materials that have been hydraulically pressed to a variety of thicknesses once the transformation process is complete. She remarked, "There is waste that they cannot recycle or treat any longer. What we get is that." Gjenge Makers can produce building materials that have been hydraulically pressed to a variety of thicknesses once the conversion process is complete.

The materials are offered for an average price of $7.70 per square metre and come in a variety of hues.

Gjenge Makers currently has more than 110 employees. Since the company's founding in 2018, its employees have produced 1,500 bricks each day and recycled around 20 metric tonnes of plastic trash.Matee intends to treble the output of her factory in the coming years by growing her company to include a much larger production line.Initial plans called for Gjenge Makers to collect plastic garbage, sort it, and sell it to other recycling businesses.Matee changed her business idea, nevertheless, after realising they had gathered more garbage than the recycling businesses could process.

The business also accepts a wide range of projects, including industrial, commercial, and residential ones.