A Look into the Future of Recycling Plastic - The Gjenge Makers Project
- Maria Figueirinhas
- Mar 9, 2021
- 2 min read
As we progress into the future, the production and use of plastic grows and becomes more and more of a problem in the world. Every year more than 300 million tons of plastic is globally manufactured, and 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean. If we don’t act now, by 2050 it is predicted there will be more plastic in the ocean, than fish. It is obvious that we are in a position where we must find creative ways to recycle and reuse plastic to curb its environmental impact. In order to do so, the future of recycling plastic will undoubtedly need to be more creative and even spark some brilliant ideas. Hopefully, some of these brilliant ideas for reused plastic will stick and make it into the mainstream of necessary materials and products.
The future of recycling plastic is not only being revolutionized in tech- companies and/or research universities, but in less known corners of the world under more humble circumstances. Nzambi Matee is a 29-year-old woman from Kenya who is creating a solution to help the plastic problem in the Africa. Nzambi has found a way to make bricks by recycling plastic waste and combining it with sand. These bricks are much lighter and more durable then cement bricks and are much more affordable. Nzambi’s company Gjenge Makers Project has recycled approximately 20 metric tons of plastic in Kenya already. Nzambi says that her company strives to recycle 50 tons of plastic waste by the end of the financial year. The Gjenge Makers Project started in 2017 in her mother’s back yard. She invested all her savings to create machinery and prototypes for testing in hopes her idea would take off. Nzambi says that her motivation for creating her company was because she was tired of being surrounded with plastic, so she decided to take action. Nzambi studied natural science and is determined to put her knowledge to good use. Currently, her bricks are only capable of being used as tiles for roads, but she is striving to create a brick that can also be used for construction of buildings.
The Gjenge Makers Project is multifunctional in its beneficial impact. The project not only addresses recycling plastic but has provided over 100 jobs, supporting youth and female entrepreneurs, while encouraging people to recycle and up-cycle, and to alter their views on plastic re-use. The future of recycling plastic depends on innovative people like Nzambi. She continues to expand her company throughout Africa and inspire more people to make small changes in their lifestyle.
It is a heartening plastic recycling story that sheds a positive light onto the potential of our future recycling trends. Undoubtedly, it’s hopeful that people like Nzambi, who have the vision are able to be funded and supported while cultures and industry shift. More importantly though, is the need to motivate other individuals from all ends of the earth to explore and redirect plastic’s usefulness versus the alternative where un-recycled plastic continues to play out a negative fate on our environment.
Sources
Comentários