From Plastic to Bricks – Gjenge Makers

Every year 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean. Only 9% of the plastic produced is recycled. Kenya produces over 600,000 tons of plastic annually. Materials engineer Nzambi Matee started her company Gjenge (pronounced jejenga) Makers Ltd in 2017 with the purpose of creating a sustainable solution to plastic pollution in her native country. Her company manufactures paving bricks made from plastic waste and sand that are cheaper, stronger, and more durable than concrete or similar bricks.  

As an engineer, Matee saw plastic waste as a stock and flow issue, with a massive flow coming in, and nowhere for the plastic to go. By creating a use for plastic, she found a free supply of materials to make a useful product, reduce waste and create a positive livelihood for herself and her employees.

 As a material engineer, she came up with the idea of creating pavement bricks. They are a significant improvement from regular cement pavers because: 

• Her pavement bricks are 5 to 7 times stronger than regular concrete pavers 
• The bricks come in a variety of colors
• They cost less than concrete bricks
• Her pavers are lighter than regular concrete bricks, reducing shipping costs

The plastics used are those that cannot be recycled by regular recycling facilities. And, when the bricks break down after years of service, they can be recycled and remade into another brick. She believes such a product will allow us to move from a linear economic model that leaves waste everywhere into a circular one that uses and recycles waste. The business is thriving.

Matee’s objectives include:

• Solving plastic waste pollution through recycling
• Providing job opportunities – currently it has created over 112 jobs
• Promoting recycling and upcycling in Kenya and Africa
• Promoting and supporting the next generation of women entrepreneurs in Engineering.

Matee has a plan to triple her production capacity, expand the variety of products she produces, to take on bigger government and construction projects, and to produce bricks for housing. 

She advises humanity to do better than complaining about the challenges we are facing.

For her efforts, Matee was named a Young Champion of the Earth by the United Nations