Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan entrepreneur who has built a recycling waste plant has earned global recognition for her work.
She is the proprietor of the founder of Gjenge Makers factory that recycles waste into bricks.
Nzambi says she was pushed to the industry by the need to reduce environmental pollution.
She collects plastic waste dumped in the Dandora dumpsite and recycles them.
In a past interview with Reuters, she said that the bricks she makes are five times stronger than concrete.
“Our product is almost five to seven times stronger than concrete,” she said.
Recently, she spoke to America’s CBS and highlighted that her recycling waste gives her a lot of joy.
She sources her waste at the biggest dumpsite in Kenya’s capital.
Dandora dumpsite is estimated to have more than 2,000 metric tonnes of waste from 4.5 million residents daily.
Plastic materials end up at the dumpsite which is what Nzambi uses to make her bricks. Through her project, she hopes to reduce the plastic mountain in Dandora.
Besides Dandora dumpsite, she also collects plastic materials floating on rivers in Nairobi.
“I get excited when I see waste because I know that’s life for us,” she told CBS’ Debbroah Patta.
The bricks offer an alternative for those who are putting up houses. They are cheaper than concrete.
When she started, she did not have a solid idea of what exactly she wanted until one day when the idea of the brick popped up.
But it was not easy. It took nine months for one brick to be made but she did not give up.
She now produces bricks in large quantities and is now being used in constructing pathways.