Creative Nigerian Engineer Builds House with 14,800 Plastic Bottles in Kaduna, the First of its Kind in Sub-Saharan Africa
“It is the cheapest house to build in this generation with waste plastic bottles on the streets polluting our environment and causing more problems like flood and other disasters in the community.”
A Nigerian engineer and Director of a Non-Governmental Organization, Developmental Association of Renewable Energies in Nigeria (DARE), Yahaya Ahmed, is promoting the recycling of waste material as he builds a house, using 14,800 sand-filled plastic bottles as bricks. Yahaya Ahmed noted that the house was built by his organization to encourage the recycling of wastes, ensure a safer environment as well as provide jobs for some Nigerians.
According to Yahaya Ahmed, workers filled the plastic bottles with sand and linked them at the neck by a network of strings to build the house. Being the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, Yahaya Ahmed disclosed that the house is simply the cheapest everyone can construct without breaking their banks, because the building materials are easily got from the streets and trash dump centres.
Premium Times noted that the house is a three-room apartment with essentials like the kitchen and toilet section.
Boasting of its quality, Ahmed said that the house is 20 times stronger than brick walls houses and can stand for more than 300 years if properly and carefully constructed. Ahmed further said that the plastic-built-house is fireproof, bulletproof, earthquake-resistant and can as well adapt to various climate changes.
Speaking on the structure of the house, Ahmed said that bottles are often times convenient to build in an artistic way. He disclosed that “The circular shape adds strength to the walls while providing a very artistic and pleasing appearance.” Ahmed further said that anyone with masonry skills can be used as labour in the construction of one of these houses. He disclosed that the not-for-profit organization has trained many youths and still intends to train more including adults, on the various ways of constructing these houses across Nigeria and in some parts of Africa.
Ahmed was motivated to lead this amazing house project to reduce the volume of plastics polluting and causing diseases in the community. The organization hopes to train more youths on the skills needed to erect plastic-made houses.
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Commenting on the amazing piece, Assistant Director of African Climate Reporters, Piman Hoffman noted that plastics pose a huge threat to human existence, animals, and other living organisms. He, however, urged the Nigerian government to help save the country from the increasing threat of waste pollution by enforcing strong waste management policies.
Nigerian engineers are also encouraged to embrace technology in constructing more houses that can stand all forms of ecological challenges.