FROM WASTE PLASTICS TO BUILDING BLOCKS

FROM WASTE PLASTICS TO BUILDING BLOCKS

Turning waste plastics into building materials is not a new idea at all. But once in a while, something old becomes new again—simply because someone finally does it right. That someone, in this case, is Nzambi Matee, a materials engineer from Nairobi, Kenya, who founded Gjenge Makers.

Her small startup has done something that should make the rest of us—especially our local engineers—pause and reflect. She is converting waste plastic into durable, interlocking building blocks that are reportedly five times stronger than concrete, cheaper to produce, and far more environmentally friendly. And this is not theoretical; her workshop now produces thousands of bricks a day.

Now, let me be honest: I have no reason to doubt her claim. But I do have reason to wonder—why not here?

Two problems, one solution

Every day, we drown in plastic waste—bottles, sachets, wrappers—clogging canals, poisoning rivers, and filling our landfills. At the same time, millions of Filipino families still live in makeshift houses or informal settlements, waiting for an affordable home that never seems to come.

So, here we are, staring at a solution that hits both targets with one shot: waste management and social housing. We have all the ingredients—tons of plastic waste, a desperate need for homes, and thousands of engineering graduates. What we seem to lack is willpower and support systems.

The Kenyan example

At Gjenge Makers, plastic waste is collected, sorted, washed, shredded, mixed with sand, melted, and then compressed into molds. The result? Bricks that are light, colorful, strong, and water-resistant.

The company employs local youth and women to collect and process the plastics, helping clean up the city while providing jobs. It’s a textbook case of what we now call the circular economy—turning waste into wealth, pollution into livelihood, and trash into shelter.

Imagine this working in our barangays: plastic waste from homes and markets turned into bricks, tiles, or even road pavers. Local people are employed to collect and process plastics. Barangay halls, health centers, and low-cost homes built from what used to be garbage.

Why not in the Philippines?

We already have the brains, the problem, and the materials. What’s missing is the bridge between innovation and implementation.

Perhaps our government could help build that bridge:

  • The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) could take the lead in developing the technology locally.

  • The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) could provide the regulatory and sustainability framework.

  • The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) could connect innovators with manufacturers and buyers.

  • The National Housing Authority (NHA) could become a major customer, using these eco-bricks for social housing.

  • The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) could encourage LGUs to establish micro-factories for plastic-to-brick conversion.

Financing and incentives

This is where creative public-private partnerships come in. What if every LGU set up its own “Waste-to-Brick” hub, perhaps with help from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) or Land Bank for soft loans?

What if the government offered carbon credits or tax incentives to companies using recycled materials in their construction projects?

And what if state universities and colleges (SUCs) served as innovation hubs—testing and improving these technologies, then turning them over to local entrepreneurs?

The return on investment here is not just financial. It’s social, environmental, and generational.

Feasibility in our context

Plastic-based bricks are already being tested in several countries. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), plastic bricks can cut construction costs by up to 40% and last for decades without structural decay. (UNEP, 2024).

Here in the Philippines, startups like GreenAntz Builders have been doing something similar—mixing shredded plastics into eco-concrete blocks since 2013. But their model still needs scaling up and stronger government backing. If Kenya can industrialize this approach, surely we can too.

The technology is neither complex nor proprietary. What we need is a nationwide program that brings local engineers, scientists, waste collectors, and housing cooperatives into one ecosystem.

The bigger picture

This is not just about making cheap bricks—it’s about rethinking the life cycle of materials. Each discarded plastic bottle could become part of someone’s home. Each sack of waste could become a livelihood opportunity.

This model could also be expanded to other waste-to-value systems: turning food waste into fertilizer, glass waste into tiles, or rubber waste into playground flooring.

It’s time we stop waiting for foreign startups to solve our problems. We can replicate and even improve on these technologies here—Filipino-style, barangay-based, and sustainability-focused.

In the end

From waste plastics to building blocks—it’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s a vision of what innovation looks like when guided by compassion and common sense.

If Kenya can do it, why can’t we? The Philippines produces more than 2 million tons of plastic waste each year, according to World Bank 2022. Even if only 10% of that becomes construction material, we could house tens of thousands of families—while cleaning our environment at the same time.

So yes, let’s ask the hard questions:
 Why aren’t we doing this already? Who’s waiting for whom? And how much longer must our plastic waste pile up before we finally turn it into homes for our people?

Because sometimes, the solutions to our biggest problems are literally lying at our feet—waiting to be picked up, melted down, and molded into something stronger.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres

iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com 04-06-2026

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOW IS THE CRIME RATE COMPUTED IN THE PHILIPPINES?

HOW IS THE CRIME RATE COMPUTED IN THE PHILIPPINES? When we talk about the crime rate in the Philippines, we often assume that the figures we see are accurate reflections of reality. But have we ever paused to ask—how exactly is the crime rate computed? Where does this data come from, and how reliable is it? The computation of the crime rate in the Philippines is officially handled by the Philippine National Police (PNP). The formula itself is straightforward: Crime Rate = (Total Reported Crimes / Total Population) x 100,000 This simple equation gives us the number of crimes per 100,000 people, allowing for fair comparison across regions and time periods. However, the reality behind these numbers is more complex than it appears. Data from the Ground The foundation of our national crime rate is empirical data collected at the grassroots level—from individual police stations scattered across the country. Every reported crime is logged in local police blotters, forming the buil...
Read more

GREY AREAS IN GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

GREY AREAS IN GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS Dear Mr. President: May I ask who is going to be the arbiter or referee whenever there are overlaps in functions between two or more government agencies? I imagine that there would be no problem if these agencies would just cooperate and collaborate with each other, but what if they are unable to settle their differences and they would just end up throwing blame at each other or finger pointing at each other? Allow me to cite some examples. Who is supposed to take the lead in waste to energy projects? Is it supposed to be the DENR that is supposed to handle waste? Or is it supposed to be the DOE that is supposed to handle energy generation? Or is it supposed to be the DILG since it is the one that could direct or influence the waste to energy projects of LGUs? Who is supposed to take the lead in producing and promoting the use of biofuels? Is it supposed to be the DA, since the production of biofuels is supposed to be all about planting biofuel ...
Read more

LOCALIZED FREE AMBULANCE SERVICES

LOCALIZED FREE AMBULANCE SERVICES As it is supposed to be, anyone in the Philippines should be able to dial 911, and a telephone operator should be able to dispatch fire, rescue, ambulance and police (FRAP) units as soon as possible, based on acceptable response times. I invented the FRAP acronym for easy recall, and I hope it sticks, if there is no other alternative. Unfortunately, due to a mixture of technical and political reasons, the Philippines has not adopted 911 as a national number, because some LGUs would rather use their own three-digit numbers such as 117 and 168. I actually proposed a technical solution to that problem, but it was not adopted either. For whatever it is worth, my solution is to install a call forwarding system that could route all calls to a central operator, regardless of what number is dialed. It is very sad for me to know that up to now, even if our country is already over one hundred years old, there are still many LGUs that do not have fire trucks. it ...
Read more