Kenyan Scientist Builds With Bottles To Beat Plastic Pollution

By
EUGENE
61
923

Kenyan Scientist Builds With Bottles To Beat Plastic Pollution

GILGIL, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Hope Mwanake understands the plastic pollution crisis facing Kenya better than most.

An environmental scientist who ran a waste collection service in Kenya’s central town of Gilgil, she witnessed first hand the mountains of plastic buckets, bottles and jerry cans discarded by residents, hotels, shops and schools.

“We were just dumping all the plastic in the landfill. It didn’t make sense. We knew there had to be a better way,” said Mwanake, 30, at her factory on the outskirts of Gilgil, 120 km (75 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.

“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.”

Along with business partner and fellow environmental scientist Kevin Mureithi, she 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.

The tiles are more durable, lighter and easier to transport and install than concrete or clay tiles. They are also safer for rainwater collection, but are available at a similar cost.

Through word of mouth, promotions in hardware stores and social media posts, the start-up has attracted dozens of home owners and small businesses this past year.

The company has also gained support from the Kenyan government, which 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.

“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).

Pollution is also a concern so repurposing plastic to build is a “win-win”, the NCA added in a statement.

PLASTIC PORRIDGE

Election Results 2019 Tories On Course To Win Majority Exit Poll

A million plastic drinks bottles are bought every minute globally, while some 500 billion disposable plastic bags are used every year, says the United Nations.

Nearly a third of plastic packaging escapes waste collection systems, and at least 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into the oceans each year, smothering reefs and threatening marine life.

https://www.reuters.com

Plastic also enters water supplies and the food chain, where it could harm people in the long term, the U.N. says.

A global fightback is gearing up – Kenya has banned plastic bags, other countries target straws or styrofoam – yet environmentalists say much more is needed.

With Kenya producing more than 3 million tonnes of waste – of which only 8% is recycled, scientists-turned-entrepreneurs Mwanake and Mureithi felt something had to be done.

“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,” said Mwanake.

“It looked like a strange porridge but once placed in moulds and cooled, we found we had a very strong and durable product.”

Since the pair set up the company, they have tapped crowd funding and attracted grants from organizations such as packaging firm Mondi and Netherlands-based ViaWater.

Commercial production of the ecotiles began in 2018.

Each tile is priced at 850 Kenyan shillings ($8.50) – equivalent to the price of concrete or clay tiles.

An average three-bed house requires 1,000 to 2,000 tiles.

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.

So far, they have turned more than 56 tonnes of plastic waste into 75,000 tiles for 30 homes and businesses.

SAVES FORESTS TOO

Coffee shop owner Julia Tatton didn’t hesitate when she saw the plastic roof tiles on display outside her neighbor’s store.

“These tiles are going to last forever and are going to outlive me for sure,” she said. “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.”

Customers save up to 40 percent on wood when using ecotiles, said Mureithi, to the benefit of their pocket and the forests.

The ecotiles are also helping Kenya’s booming construction industry cut its carbon emissions by providing more green and sustainable alternatives to concrete tiles.

Cement, a key ingredient of concrete, releases 5% to 8% of global greenhouse gas during its manufacturing, according to the Global Cement and Concrete Association, a non-profit.

As governments and companies look to cut planet-warming emissions, in line with Paris Agreement goals to limit global temperature rise to “well under” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F), finding ways to ‘green’ construction is key.

Mwanake said it was vital to boost visibility and awareness to grow her business, as many Kenyan consumers had a negative view about eco-friendly, recycled products.

“Unlike in Western countries where labeling 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,” said Mwanake.

“That view is slowly changing, but it is taking time,” she said. “We know there is a market. We just have to reach it.”

Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kenyan Scientist Builds With Bottles To Beat Plastic Pollution

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

61 COMMENTS

  1. Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Cheers

  3. After research a couple of of the weblog posts on your web site now, and I truly like your approach of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site list and might be checking again soon. Pls try my web page as properly and let me know what you think.

  5. I was really pleased to find this web-site. I intended to thanks for your time for this fantastic read!! I most definitely taking pleasure in every little bit of it and also I have you bookmarked to have a look at brand-new stuff you article.

  6. Hello very cool blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally…I’m happy to search out a lot of useful info right here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  7. Hey there, You’ve done an excellent job. I’ll definitely digg it and individually recommend to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this site.

  11. We are Daylight Studio, a boutique photography studio in East London available for hire. We are a creative natural light studio space with decorated French walls, lots of props and furniture and massive windows for great natural light. He have a unique selection of chairs, fabric backgrounds and a sofa for your next natural light photography project. The studio is great for fashion, portrait and commercial photography and if natural light photography studio is not your thing we have a lot of lighting equipment available for you as well and that includes studio strobe lights with various modifiers and LED constant lights for video production. We also have facilities for e-commerce photography. Please see the studio’s gallery here.

  12. Awesome blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Appreciate it!

  13. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The design and style look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon. Thanks

  15. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your site. You have some really great posts and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if interested. Regards!

  19. Thank you sharing all these wonderful articles. In addition, an excellent travel along with medical insurance system can often ease those problems that come with visiting abroad. Some sort of medical crisis can quickly become very expensive and that’s guaranteed to quickly slam a financial burden on the family’s finances. Putting in place the suitable travel insurance package deal prior to setting off is definitely worth the time and effort. Thank you

  22. Can I simply say what a relief to find somebody who truly knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You positively know the best way to convey a difficulty to mild and make it important. More people have to learn this and understand this side of the story. I cant imagine youre not more standard because you undoubtedly have the gift.

  23. Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!

  24. Just wish to say your article is as astonishing. The clarity in your post is just cool and i could assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.

  25. Get help to stop drinking. Helping women quit drinking alcohol. Coach Mary Wagstaff. Feel better, mind, body and soul. Mindfulness based coaching and alcohol recovery. Yoga for recovery.

  26. Get help to stop drinking. Helping women quit drinking alcohol. Coach Mary Wagstaff. Feel better, mind, body and soul. Mindfulness based coaching and alcohol recovery. Yoga for recovery.

  27. I have seen lots of useful factors on your internet site about computers. However, I have got the view that laptops are still less than powerful sufficiently to be a option if you often do projects that require a lot of power, for example video editing and enhancing. But for net surfing, statement processing, and a lot other frequent computer work they are just fine, provided you never mind the screen size. Thank you for sharing your thinking.

  28. I actually wanted to construct a quick comment in order to appreciate you for those fabulous recommendations you are writing at this site. My extended internet research has at the end of the day been honored with excellent facts and strategies to talk about with my contacts. I ‘d suppose that we website visitors actually are definitely endowed to live in a very good network with very many brilliant professionals with beneficial tips. I feel rather blessed to have encountered your entire weblog and look forward to some more enjoyable moments reading here. Thanks once again for everything.

  30. Wonderful work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the internet. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my web site . Thanks =)

  31. Needed to compose you this bit of word so as to say thanks again for the lovely things you’ve documented on this website. It has been so surprisingly open-handed of people like you to make publicly precisely what numerous people could possibly have supplied as an e book to help make some dough for their own end, most importantly seeing that you might well have done it in the event you decided. Those solutions likewise served to become a great way to be aware that most people have similar dreams much like mine to learn many more with reference to this issue. Certainly there are some more fun situations in the future for those who see your blog post.

  34. I have seen loads of useful things on your site about personal computers. However, I’ve the opinion that netbooks are still less than powerful adequately to be a good choice if you frequently do jobs that require many power, such as video editing. But for website surfing, word processing, and a lot other common computer functions they are perfectly, provided you can’t mind the tiny screen size. Thank you sharing your notions.

  37. It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!

  38. I’m really inspired together with your writing talents as well as with the format in your blog. Is that this a paid topic or did you modify it yourself? Either way stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to look a nice blog like this one these days..

  39. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or tips. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!

  43. All the IRS . GOV will not pay appeal with any sort of too much tax burden funds, so you are really bringing it inside pants just by never changing your own taxation obligations.

  47. Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossips and internet and this is actually frustrating. A good website with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for keeping this website, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can not find it.

  52. Arx Nimbus’ Thrivaca Risk Analytics Platform provides the first financially-relevant Digital Risk Profile for the enterprise, underwriters and brokers. Using a patented algorithm developed in collaboration with leading universities, the DoD and federal regulators, Thrivaca consolidates industry historical analysis, your latest analyses and assessments, proprietary vulnerability scans, audit data and actuarial mathematics to produce a complete and detailed valuation of enterprise-wide digital risk, and the top sources of current carrying cost.

  53. My wife and i got really satisfied when Emmanuel could round up his survey from the precious recommendations he was given through the web site. It’s not at all simplistic to just find yourself freely giving tips that people today may have been selling. We do understand we’ve got the blog owner to appreciate for this. All the explanations you made, the easy web site navigation, the relationships your site help instill – it’s most unbelievable, and it’s helping our son in addition to our family consider that the subject matter is interesting, which is extraordinarily essential. Many thanks for all!

  54. One other issue is that if you are in a scenario where you do not have a co-signer then you may actually want to try to wear out all of your financial aid options. You’ll find many funds and other scholarships and grants that will ensure that you get finances to support with university expenses. Thank you for the post.

  55. Wow! This can be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Fantastic. I’m also an expert in this topic so I can understand your hard work.

  56. Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers

  58. Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research on this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I’m very glad to see such magnificent info being shared freely out there.

  60. There are absolutely a great deal of details like that to think about. That is a terrific point to raise. I provide the ideas above as basic inspiration however clearly there are inquiries like the one you raise where the most important point will certainly be operating in honest good faith. I don?t understand if best practices have emerged around points like that, but I make certain that your work is plainly identified as a level playing field. Both kids and ladies feel the influence of simply a moment?s enjoyment, for the rest of their lives.

  61. Hello! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My blog discusses a lot of the same topics as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here