“Lets turn trash into cash!” -Nzambi Matee. A kenyan woman named Nzambi Matee is bringing positive change to Kenyan infrastructure by turning plastic waste into building products with her startup Gjenge Makers. Ms.Matee has expressed that she started the startup after simply being tired of seeing plastic littered on the streets everyday. She decided that she no longer wanted to be complacent and instead start doing something about it.
The startup, founded in 2008, receives plastic waste that cannot be processed for free from local packaging plants and then produces many different types of building material. The product they make is a plastic polymer heated and mixed with sand which ends up being 5-7 times stronger than concrete. They cost an average of $7.70 per square meter.
Gjenge Makers so far has an employee base of more than 110 people and they produce around 1,500 bricks each day. They have successfully repurposed around 20 metric tons of plastic waste so far. As for right now, Ms. Matee is hoping to expand the production rate and add more employees.
by Ayo Adeyemi, AFJN Student Intern
Source: Kenyan Woman’s Startup Recycles Plastic Waste into Bricks That Are 5x Stronger Than Concrete by Andy Corbley reporting for goodnewsnetwork.org