A Nigerian startup recycles plastic waste into strong, affordable housing bricks, offering eco-friendly solutions to Africa’s housing crisis.
Every Wednesday, News Scope Africa shines the light on innovative ideas reshaping our continent.
This week, our Innovation Africa Spotlight takes us to Nigeria, where one startup is transforming an everyday problem into a life-changing solution.
In many Nigerian cities, plastic waste clogs drainages, litters markets, and pollutes communities.
But for EcoBricks Africa, a Lagos-based social enterprise, that waste is not an eyesore, it’s raw material.
The startup collects used plastics, processes them into durable bricks, and uses them to build low-cost housing for vulnerable families.
The innovation is more than just eco-friendly; it is tackling two urgent challenges at once, waste management and affordable housing.
According to EcoBricks, their recycled bricks are fire-resistant, twice as strong as conventional blocks, and significantly cheaper.
According to the BBC, the first plastic house in Nigeria was constructed in the village of Yelwa, where a different variant of bottle brick technology was used.
The bottles were filled with sand instead of trash and inorganic waste.
Beyond building homes, the project also empowers local youth and women, who earn income by collecting and supplying plastic waste.
Across Africa, startups like EcoBricks are proving that sustainability and development can go hand in hand.
By turning trash into shelter, they are rewriting the story of urban resilience and green innovation.
This is the future of African innovation: solving problems with homegrown, practical solutions.
Stay tuned every Wednesday for more stories in our Innovation Africa Spotlight, because the future of the continent is being built today.
Edited by Aremu Toyeebaht
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