Kenyan startup manufacturing pavement bricks from plastic waste

October, 14th 2020

We usially throw away plastic bottle tops and cooking oil containers after use because technically you don’t need them. But there is a company in Nairobi that rely on this trash to put food on the table.

Gjenge Makers recycle plastic bottle tops and cooking oil containers to make pavers, which are used for sidewalks footpaths and sideways. The company that has been in operations in the last two years and launched its product this year (2020).

"Gjenge started with a dream of four people, me and three brilliant engineers, the idea was how do they find the most sustainable solution to plastic waste pollution and giving a solution that is practical, the best impact was meeting basic needs, and in this case, housing is one of the basic needs," She told.

When they identified the space they wanted to get into, they began doing a lot of research on it, if there was demand for the product, and how to make the product, but unfortunately, they did not find the machines they needed and had to make their own machines from scratch.

"The machines they use, they make them from scratch; they really researched the internet to find the machines that would give them what they wanted, but they didn’t find exactly what they wanted. they decided if Moses can’t get to the mountain, let’s bring the mountain to Moses,” she explained. However, some machines were too expensive to make and they had to look for assistance. The company went on an eight months fundraising campaign looking for a strategic partner.

They knocked on so many doors, some did not even give them time to explain their idea, but the ones who did give them an ear, They remember getting 52 no’s but they finally landed on help,” he recalls.

Today, the factory has a capacity to produce about 1200, 40mm pavers, a day on a two-day shift. "Having launched this year, they have seen a great uptake of our product despite the Covid-19 pandemic, they are hoping to continue getting more orders, and taking the company to the next level,” she told. The team eyes the government's affordable housing projects, and plans to increase other sustainable products to their portfolio.

Source: khaleejtimes.com