Plastic waste is a very big problem currently in the planet. Millions of tons of plastic are littered in oceans and left in poor areas piling up affecting the nearby habitats. A young inventor called Nzambi created a company called Gjenge Makers in 2018 that is based on creating bricks made of plastic fragments to help with the worldwide issue of plastic waste. Kenya has one of the worst plastic waste issues as hundreds of tons of plastic is deposited there every day. These bricks are made by mixing small plastic fragments with sand. This mix is run through the extruder which heats the plastic and sand mixture until it is soft enough to mold. This mold is then put under a hydraulic press which squeeze nine bricks at a time. The bricks then cool so it can harden at room temperature to turn into a full hard brick.
A pallet of 400 plastic pavers can sell for up to $150. This is 25% cheaper than bricks made from concrete. Creating roads using plastic is very useful and many countries are currently using it. For example, India uses a mix of plastic and asphalt to create their roads which make their roads stronger and last longer. Making roads using plastic is also cheaper as they would require less asphalt. This helps to reduce plastic waste with using plastic more efficiently especially for a country that plastic waste is one of the biggest issues.
However, experts say these innovations may increase the amount of plastic released into the environment. Roads are subject to constant abrasion meaning more plastic will go to our environment especially if roads will contain plastic fragments into it. They are the primary source of microplastics in the environment. In recent years, researchers have found microplastics in nearly every sample of our food, drinking water, the air we breathe, and even inside our bodies.
Comments are closed.