Recycled Throw-away Plastics Build Homes

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

A Kenyan scientist has taken recycling to a whole new level.

In Kenya, Hope Mwanake, an environmental scientist, has found a way to convert plastic and glass waste into roof tiles and other construction materials.  Kenya is facing a plastic pollution crisis. In Gilgil, one of Kenya’s central towns, Hope ran a waste collection service. She saw residents, hotels, shops, and schools discard mountains of plastic bottles, buckets, and jerrycans.

“We were just dumping all the plastic in the landfill.  It didn’t make sense. We knew there had to be a better way,” Hope shares in her interview with Aljazeera.  “We wanted to do something with all this plastic waste, and after a lot of brainstorming, research and experimenting, we came up with a value-added product with market demand that would also help to reduce all this plastic in the environment.”

This 30-year-old scientist, along with her business partner Kevin Mureithi, also an environmental scientist, founded “Eco Blocks and Tiles” in 2016.  “It is the first company in Kenya to manufacture roof tiles and other construction materials from plastic and glass waste,” Aljazeera reports. Hope’s factory is on the outskirts of Gilgil, 75 miles north of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

They have found that ecotiles are durable, light, and easy to transport and install, more so than concrete or clay tiles.  Rainwater collection is safer using ecotiles as well. And they cost approximately the same as concrete and clay tiles.  

Ecotiles have grown in popularity this year, gaining attention by homeowners and small businesses through word-of-mouth, hardware store promotions, and social media posts.  The Kenyan government is also supporting the startup. The government is, “promoting the use of sustainable greener materials as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated from the east African nation’s construction industry,” Aljazeera writes.  

“With the growing population, expanding urban fabric, commitment to provide affordable housing in Kenya and net-zero carbon buildings by 2050, such products have a potential market,” said Kenya’s National Construction Authority (NCA).

The government is also concerned about the incessant pollution and are excited for the plastics to be repurposed.  According to the United Nations, every minute, one million plastic bottles are bought globally.  Approximately one third of plastic packaging escapes waste collection systems, eight million tons of plastic leak into the oceans each year, damaging reefs and marine life, and plastic enter water supplies and the food chain, which can ultimately harm people long term, discloses the UN.  

Each year, Kenya produces more than three million tons of waste, and only 8% of that waste is recycled.  While Kenya has banned plastic bags, and other countries are banning straws and Styrofoam, more needs to change according to environmentalists.  Hope and Kevin knew something needed to be done, and went to work.  

Hope shares, “We examined the properties of plastic and glass, and then we literally cooked empty shampoo and vegetable bottles in a big drum and mixed the molten polymer with sand crushed from glass waste...It looked like a strange porridge, but once placed in moulds and cooled, we found we had a very strong and durable product.”

Ecotiles commercial production started in 2018.  “The company employs four permanent staff and supports scores of community garbage collectors by purchasing their raw material— plastic and glass waste chucked by Gilgil’s residents,” as reported by Aljazeera.  Priced at 850 Kenyan shillings, which is $8.50 US dollars, ecotiles are priced equivalent to clay and concrete tiles. To date, they have converted 56 tons of plastic waste into 750,000 tiles for 30 different homes and businesses.

Ecotiles are saving forests also.  Because the tiles are so light, not as much wood is needed to support them.  Customers save up to 40% on wood by using ecotiles. Julia Tatton, a coffee shop owner, was eager to have ecotiles herself after she saw them displayed at her neighbor’s store.  “These tiles are going to last forever and are going to outlive me for sure...They actually work out cheaper as they are lighter than clay tiles, so you actually save money on the wooden support required to hold them in place,” Julia explains.

Kenya is able to cut its carbon emissions by utilizing more green and sustainable alternatives to concrete tiles, such as ecotiles.  According to the Global Cement and Concrete Association, a non-profit organization, cement, which is a key ingredient of concrete, releases 5-8% of total global greenhouse gases during its manufacturing.  

The 2015 Paris Agreement came up with a goal of limiting global temperature rise to “well under” 3.6 degree Fahrenheit.  Governments and companies are looking for ways to cut planet-warming emissions.  That being said, identifying ways to make construction “green” is vital. 

Increasing visibility and awareness were necessary to helping Hope grow her business.  There is a negative connotation associated with eco-friendly, recycled products for Kenyan consumers.  Hope shares, “Unlike in Western countries where labelling a product as ‘eco-friendly’ is considered a positive by consumers and it is quickly snapped up, in Kenya it can be seen as a negative...as if the product is of lower quality...That view is slowly changing, but it is taking time,” she said.  “We know there is a market. We just have to reach it.”

Not only did Hope find a way to tackle the persistent littering that she witnessed in Gilgil, but she also found a way to make construction greener by recycling throw-away plastics and glass.  Ecotiles are an affordable, durable, light, and more eco-friendly alternative to cement and clay tiles. With the help of her business partner Kevin, Hope has contributed to the roofing and construction industry in an innovative and sustainable way.

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com.