Plastic-Waste Pavement

Recycle the plastic waste into pavement blocks to:

• Move and work in the garden during the rainy season,
• Remove trash from the nature,
• Reduce the burning of plastics and,
• Raise awareness about the waste issue and hope to influence the local communities toward a wasteless future.

Difficulty

Very easy Very easy

Duration

30 minute(s) minute(s)

Categories

Decoration, Furniture, Recycling & Upcycling

Cost

0 EUR (€)

Recycle, Plastic, Waste, Pavement, Outside, Low-Tech, Sustainable, Autonomy Plastic-Waste_Pavement_SIY-TS-20-001-PlasticWastePavement-Pic006.jpg en none Creation 0

Introduction

Acknowledgements

In Homa Bay, Kenya, as in most place we have been in Africa, there is no proper waste management solution accessible to local communities. As a result, we see litter -especially plastic waste- everywhere. The most commonly-adopted alternative is to burn the plastic waste. But burning releases toxic chemicals in the atmosphere and are, thus, a danger for the people doing it (not talking about the harm for soil, water, air, fauna, flora…). Thus, around the garden, we find a lot of plastic waste (plastic bags, pieces of recipients, worn out shoes, milk packs…). We also find a lot of empty cement bags and dirt due to recent construction work on the permaculture school and site latrines. Moreover, during the rainy season, the garden here gets muddy and it becomes difficult to move and work in the garden.

Our solution and its expectable benefits

Recycle the plastic waste into pavement blocks to:

• Move and work in the garden during the rainy season,
• Remove trash from the nature,
• Reduce the burning of plastics and,
• Raise awareness about the waste issue and hope to influence the local communities toward a wasteless future.

Materials

• Parts:
  • NA (we collect them)
• Consumables:
  • Soap (for the rest, we collect them)

Tools

• Tools:
  • (1) Wheelbarrow,
  • (1) Shovel and,
  • (1) Knife;

Step 1 - How?

Refer to the pictures available in the gallery. Proceed as follows to build you own Plastic-Waste Pavement.

Required Conditions

• Team:
  • One is enough (more is very much appreciated)
• Required skills:
  • None
• Duration:
  • 30 minutes (per unit)
• Preliminary requirements:
  • NA

Step 2 - Collect waste:

1. Move around with bags and wheelbarrow to collect waste,
2. If necessary, brake down the biggest pieces of waste into smaller pieces to make it easier to transport;

Also, brake down the biggest pieces to make it easier to fill bags in next steps.

Feel free to sing along as this task is time-consuming and sometimes quite frustrating (with our friend Felix, we created our own dedicated song: “trash everywhere”).

Step 3 - Collect empty bags,

We used the cement bags available on the compound.

Step 4 - Define the location where you want to install the Plastic-Waste Pavement,

Step 5 - Carry the collected waste and empty bags to the location (or close to location),

Step 6 - If dirt is available at location, proceed with next step. Else:

Avoid nutrient-rich soil such as humus or compost, prefer inert dirt.

1. Empty the waste from the wheelbarrow at location,
2. Use the wheel barrow to collect dirt,
3. Carry the collected dirt to location (or close to location);

Step 7 - Fill the bags with trash:

Step 8 - If needed, use a knife to draw holes in the upper part of the filled bag,

Step 9 - Use a rope and go through the holes on the upper part of the filled bag to close the filled bag,

Step 10 - Tie the rope to secure the Plastic-Waste Pavement,

Step 11 - If needed, use a knife to cut the loose part of the rope from the Plastic-Waste Pavement,

Step 12 - Walk and/or jump on the Plastic-Waste Pavement to give it the shape you want,

Step 13 - Install the pavement,

Step 14 - Use soap to wash your hands.

Yes