There’s no denying that the world has become very aware of the environmental risks and currently we have so much wastage in Kenya and more often than not we don’t have anything to do with it. However, Nzambi Matee is an entrepreneur and inventor who has a sharp vision and has managed to turn plastic waste into bricks, her company is called gjenje makers ltd. Turning plastic into paving stones. In just a day Nzambi’s factor churns out 1,500 churned plastic pavers and contrary to what people think, they are quite affordable. When asked what inspired Nzambi, she said: “It is absurd that we still have this problem of providing decent shelter – a basic human need,plastic is a material that is misused and misunderstood. the potential is enormous, but its after life can be disastrous.” So who is Nzambi Matee? They say when you educate a woman you educate a whole community this is clearly evident by how Nzambi has demonstrated her entrepreneurship skills by using what she majored in, material science. She worked as an engineer in Kenya’s oil industry before exploring the plastic, through research and experimentation she managed to bind plastics together then created a machinery that allowed her to create a mass produce. Soraya smaoun, who specializes in industrial production techniques with UNEP was quite impressed and said: “Nzambi matee’s innovation in the construction sector highlights the economic and environmental opportunities when we move from a linear economy, where products, once used, are discarded, to a circular one, where products and materials continue in the system for as long as possible.” Job opportunities have been created. Where there’s a startup jobs have been created as well. Thanks to gjenge makers more than 100 jobs have been created, you must be wondering if the shelters this new innovation will create would be good enough. The bricks invented from the plastic waste are strong enough to hold twice the weight threshold of concrete blocks The bricks are made of plastic that was originally used for milk and shampoo bottles, cereal and sandwich bags, buckets, and ropes. Every day, Gjenge Makers produces about 1,500 bricks, in different sizes and colors. Matee is a materials engineer, and she designed the factory’s machines after becoming sick of waiting for government officials to do something about plastic pollution. “I was tired of being on the sidelines,” she told Reuters. Since opening, Gjenge Makers has recycled 20 tons of plastic waste, and Matee plans on adding a larger production line that will allow the factory to triple its output.
