TRASH HAS VALUE

30-year-old engineer and inventor,Nzambi Matee

Nzambi Matee  is a Kenyan of the mountains of discarded oil drums, laundry buckets, yoghurt tubs and other trash being shredded into colourful flakes at her Nairobi factory.

She is a 30-year-old engineer and inventor that has discovered a way to recycle tonnes of plastic destined for landfill into eco-friendly bricks that are stronger, cheaper and lighter than concrete.

Her start-up recycles tonnes of plastic destined for landfill into eco-friendly bricks that are stronger, cheaper and lighter than concrete.

“I believe that plastic is one of the misunderstood materials”, she said.

The sustainable paving blocks are of her own design and are already in line roads, driveways and the sidewalks of Nairobi but could soon serve as an alternative building material for low-cost housing.

Her enterprise, Gjenge Makers, churns out 1,500 bricks made from industrial and household plastic that otherwise would be dumped in the city’s overflowing garbage heaps.

Nzambi Matee is a materials engineer and head of Gjenge Makers, which produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand. Photo: UNEP

The young entrepreneur quit a job in oil and gas—the very industry that makes plastic from fossil fuels—to explore recycling after being shocked at how little trash was being reused.

“In Nairobi we generate about 500 metric tonnes of plastic waste every single day, and only a fraction of that is recycled,” said Matee, who bounds with energy around the factory floor in denim overalls and trainers.