Nelson Boateng and 5 Other Ghanaians Who Turn Waste Plastics Into Usable Products Including Houses & Furniture

• Many Ghanaian business owners and social entrepreneurs are helping to address the plastic pollution menace in Ghana by turning waste plastics into usable products
• While some build houses, others convert waste materials into fuel, bags, and furniture, among others
• YEN.com.gh highlights six Ghanaian entrepreneurs and environmentalists bringing the gold out of waste plastics

Ghanaian owners of social enterprises or businesses that focus on the environment are helping to tackle plastic pollution by turning waste plastics into usable products.

Aside from building houses, others convert waste plastics into clothes, fuel, furniture, and most recently, prosthetic arms.

Ghana generates approximately 840,000 tonnes of plastic waste yearly - and roughly 9.5 percent of that is collected for recycling, said Weforum.

Plastic pollution is the accumulation of synthetic plastic products in the environment to the point that they create problems for wildlife and their habitats, as well as for human populations.

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But entrepreneurs with a passion for addressing plastics waste or the pollution menace and its myriad social challenges in the nation are turning it into usable products. They engage waste pickers to collect plastic waste and convert it into bags, shoes, clothes, furniture, fuel, and other needed products for home use, and offices, among others.

YEN.com.gh has compiled a list of entrepreneurs and creatives bringing the gold out of waste plastics.

1. Ghanaian business owner Nelson Boateng builds homes with waste plastics

In 2021, Ghanaian innovator Nelson Boateng gained national attention for building affordable houses with discarded plastic for low-income workers in the country.

Ghana's housing deficit is 1.8 million, said the Ghana Statistical Services. Boateng developed a concept to help with the situation.

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2. Paul Coffie Beboru built houses out of plastic trash:

Paul Coffie Beboru is a Ghanaian in his 30s who began building houses from plastic waste when he started working with a waste recycling company after school. He looked into companies already in his field and found similar projects in Kenya, Israel, and Nigeria, among other countries.

Beboru adds clay to the plastic waste bottles during construction, which makes the homes fire-resistant, earthquake-resistant, and bulletproof.

3. Talented KNUST Student Emmanuel Kojo Nimo Converts Plastic Bottles into Fuel to Power Machines:

The student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) turned plastic bottles into diesel. It is part of Nimo's effort to address the frequent increase in fuel prices due to Ghana's economic depression.

Nimo said his diesel can be used to power diesel machines, including vehicles. The product is, however, yet to receive approval from the Ghana Standards Authority, GSA.

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4: Ghanaian fashion designers Elisha Ofori Bamfo and Calvin Bill make unique and sustainable designs from waste materials:

Elisha Ofori Bamfo and his brother, Calvin Bill are Ghanaian fashion designers who make unique and sustainable outfits from waste materials. They design colourful clothing from waste materials like plastics and merge them with broken mirrors.

The two creative minds have earned attention for their signature and sustainable designs.

5: Ghanaian Engineer Emmanuel Wireko-Brobby Creates Artificial Arms With Plastic Waste For Amputees

Ghanaian engineer, Emmanuel Wireko-Brobby, developed prosthetic arms from waste plastic. The senior clinical engineer and technologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) created the artificial device to aid amputees, which he said can be built with less than GH¢20.

The engineer said the intervention is his contribution to the growth of society as it tackles plastic pollution.

6: Ghanaian Makafui Awuku Produces 2000 Reusable Bags From Waste Plastics For Shoppers In Accra

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Makafui Awuku is a Ghanaian environmentalist and sustainability professional who turns waste plastics into usable products. The creative and his team have designed reusable bags for shoppers using waste plastics

The CEO of Mckingtorch Africa and his team processed over 400,000 water waste plastics. The initiative is a pilot project funded by The Basel and Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions with support from Ghana's Ministry of Environment Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Basel Convention Coordinating Center for Africa in Nigeria.

Talented Woman Turns Pure Water Sachets Into Beautiful Dress

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that Africa has a waste plastic pollution problem, but some creatives are helping to turn them into usable products to solve the rising menace.

Adejoke Lasisi, a Nigerian creative who works in the environmental sector, turned waste pure water sachets into a colourful dress.

Source: YEN.com.gh