It seems like you can’t drive more than 5 yards without seeing a plastic bag along the side of the road. In Ghana, the problem is even worse, some estimates say that only 2% of plastic trash in the country is being recycled, so one company has come up with a way to take all that garbage and actually turn it into roads.
The company, Nelplast shreds the bags, along with other plastic garbage (60%) and then mixes it with sand (%40) to create a form of asphalt. This results in a new material that requires less natural resources than traditional asphalt and still retaining excellent durability.
The process was created by network engineer Nelson Boateng. He came up with it after designing and building his own recycling machine using scrap metal. Along with using the new asphalt as paving blocks, the goal is that it can be used as a new road surface and even as a future home-building material. In the long-run, they are hoping to recycle 70% of Ghana’s plastic waste into usable building material.