Narrator: This is melted plastic mixed with sand.
Narrator: And it becomes as hard as concrete
once a hydraulic press squeezes it into shape.
A company in Nairobi wants to install these plastic bricks
on streets across Kenya's capital.
Could they become a solution for a country where 90% of
roads have never been paved?
And are roads made from plastic trash really a good idea?
We went to Nairobi to meet the young inventor
making bricks out of worldwide waste.
Nzambi Matee opened her company, Gjenge Makers, in 2018.
Narrator: The factory processes three of the seven types of
single-use plastics.
Narrator: Kenya has one of the world's toughest bans
on plastic bags. But bottles and other
containers are still everywhere.
This is where workers sort them.
They can handle about 10 metric tons of plastic every month.
Narrator: Vinny operates the crusher,
which pulverizes plastic into small pieces.
Narrator: Workers fold the dry mix together with a shovel.
Narrator: This machine heats the plastic and sand mixture
until it's soft enough to mold.
Narrator: Each lump of the mixture is weighed by hand.
People say the smell is something like new asphalt
on a hot day.
Narrator: This hydraulic press can squeeze nine bricks at a time.
Narrator: At this point, the bricks need to cool
so they can harden at room temperature.
Narrator: Many bricks come off the press with jagged edges.
A worker breaks them off on a large stone before adding the
finished bricks to a stack.
For now, Gjenge's output is modest.
Narrator: That's about enough bricks to cover a courtyard,
like the one at this community center.
Narrator: A pallet of 400 plastic pavers can sell for up to $150,
depending on thickness.
The company says that's about 25% cheaper
than bricks made from concrete.
Narrator: Turning waste into pavement is an idea
that's already caught on in other countries.
Construction workers in India have been mixing small amounts
of plastic waste into asphalt for decades,
making new roads that are stronger and that last longer.
But experts say these innovations may increase
the amount of plastic released into the environment.
Narrator: Even on pure asphalt roads,
the paints used to make lines contain plastic, and
particles rub off the tires on vehicles
every time they drive.
Narrator: 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.
Tangri says that any solution that doesn't focus on
decreasing the amount of new plastic going into production
lets the people who created the problem off the hook.
Narrator: Still, roads made with plastic are cheaper, mainly because
they require less asphalt. And they make good use of plastic
that would otherwise end up in places like Dandora,
Nairobi's only official landfill.
Narrator: It reached full capacity 20 years ago,
but new garbage keeps coming in.
Narrator: Amos Wemanya is an environmental activist
and renewable-energy consultant.
Narrator: In Nairobi's poorest areas,
there are no sanitation services.
Many people toss garbage into rivers or just burn it --
as much as 750 tons every day.
Narrator: But that didn't stop American oil lobbyists
from proposing a trade deal to export millions
of tons of plastic waste to Kenya.
Narrator: Nzambi knows that her invention can't tackle
a mountain of trash that large.
So far, her factory has recycled 50 metric tons
of waste this year. But Nairobi produces six times
that amount of plastic trash every single day.
Narrator: Still, she is continuing to expand her business.
Narrator: In 2020, the United Nations recognized Nzambi
as a Young Champion of the Earth and awarded her $10,000.
And she says her company is closing
a half-million-dollar seed-funding round.
Narrator: She employs 20 people full time, nearly all of them
under 30 years old.
Narrator: Most of her customers are local,
including her mother, who is also an entrepreneur.
She just started a business raising egg-laying hens in her
backyard.
Narrator: Nzambi's first experiments with plastic trash
took place here. Now her bricks cover the entire driveway.
Narrator: Eventually, Nzambi wants her business to grow
internationally.
Narrator: And her biggest fans support the future she's building,
one brick at a time.