By Inna Lazareva, THOMPSON REUTERS FOUNDATION
Africa was estimated to have 4.4 million metric tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste in 2010, a figure scientists warned could rise to 10.5 million tonnes in 2025 if nothing is done. Globally, it was an estimated 32 million tonnes.
With millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in landfills and oceans each year, engineers and architects are coming up with novel ways to make use of the durable commodity.
Too much plastic and not enough schools are scourges of modern life many countries face. Now a factory in West Africa will try to tackle both by transforming old flip-flops and car tyres into bricks to build classrooms.
The factory in Ivory Coast will be the first of its kind in Africa and aims to produce enough plastic bricks to build 500 classrooms across the country by 2021, funded by the UN children’s fund UNICEF and a Colombian social enterprise.
Plastic garbage works like Lego said UNICEF’s head of education in Ivory Coast, Sophie Chavanel.
The interlocking bricks – cheaper and lighter than many conventional building materials – require no cement, are fire retardant and stay cool in hot weather, she said.
It will cost an estimated $14,500 to build each plastic-brick classroom, and they are badly needed. Read more…
