--- title: "Kenyan Engineer Invents Method to Turn Waste Plastic Into Sturdy Construction Bricks" description: "A Kenyan engineer Nzambi Matee has come up with a way to upcycle plastic trash — by pressing it with the addition of sand into usable bricks." date: "2022-06-27" modified: "2022-06-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/kenyan-engineer-waste-plastic-bricks" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "environment" - "kenya" - "plastic" - "the digest" --- # Kenyan Engineer Invents Method to Turn Waste Plastic Into Sturdy Construction Bricks ![A Kenyan engineer Nzambi Matee has come up with a way to upcycle plastic trash — by pressing it with the addition of sand into usable bricks.]() *\Image: SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Plastic Pavers A 30-year-old Kenyan engineer named Nzambi Matee has come up with a promising way to upcycle plastic trash that would've otherwise landed in landfills — by pressing it, with the addition of sand, into sturdy bricks and paving stones. Her Nairobi-based company, [Gjenge Makers](), produces a variety of different paving stones, which are already being put to use to line sidewalks, driveways, and roads. According to the engineer, the plastic pavers are [seven times stronger](), 15 percent cheaper to produce and lighter than concrete. And the venture is just getting started, with the company now investigating ways to construct affordable housing from similar materials. ## Block Main The solution is addressing a massive problem in the African nation's capital. "As a materials expert, I believe that plastic one of the misunderstood materials, because its effect is so huge that you aren't able to quantify it, but its impact is equally the same," Matee told *The Hindu* in a recent [video interview](). "In Nairobi we generate about 500 metric tons of plastic waste every single day, and only a fraction of that is recycled," she [told *Agence France-Presse*]() back in March. "And that made me think — what happens to this plastic?" The reality is that less than ten percent of plastic ends up getting recycled, which means that landfills are growing at a staggering pace. Unfortunately, the company's machines still can't process PET plastic, one of the most commonly used types, but Matee hopes to change that soon. "There is more that can be done, there is more that needs to be done," she told *AFP*. "We are just a single drop in the ocean... small, small drops will make a big effect." **READ MORE:** ['Trash has value': Kenyan inventor turns plastic into bricks]() \[*AFP*\] **More on plastic recycling:** *[Startup Turns "Unrecyclable" Plastic Into Giant, Indestructible Construction Bricks]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()