Facing mounting waste and associated health problems throughout her community, Hope Mwanake knew she had to take action. Her hometown of Gilgil, a coastal community about a three-hour drive from Nairobi, was being buried in trash, with no formal waste management system and no publicly administered dump. Mwanake formed a waste-picking collective to tackle one of Kenya’s most pressing problems: the annual accumulation of about 3 million tons of plastic waste, of which only 8% is recycled. Beyond the environment’s urgent need for plastic recycling, Mwanake recognized it as a market and business opportunity. So, in 2016, she created Eco Blocks + Tiles, an innovative social enterprise manufacturing high-quality roof tiles from recycled plastic waste. 

With an initial grant from USADF and ample waste resources, Mwanake quickly moved from her first prototype and machinery investment to scaling her circular enterprise. In just two years, Eco Blocks + Tiles recycled more than 220 tons of plastic, sold over 200,000 tiles, and roofed about 110 houses. The company, an industry pioneer, created about 1,500 jobs, purchasing waste from community-led waste collection groups and training staff, mostly local youth, to work in the factory or to install roof tiles for customers. The products provide a lighter, competitively priced alternative to traditional concrete blocks and tiles, reducing transportation and housing-construction costs and enabling safe collection of rainwater runoff.  

The Kenyan government’s recent prioritization of plastic waste recycling and affordable housing has boosted Mwanake and her business. Kenya’s 2017 ban on the use, manufacture, and import of plastic bags, and 2019 ban on the import of plastic waste, have raised public awareness of the issue—and of Eco Blocks & Tiles’ critical role tackling pervasive environmental and social issues in Kenyan communities.  

Mwanake is seeking to capitalize on this opportunity to achieve her ambitious goals of selling 1 million roof tiles by 2025, recycling 750 tons of waste, and creating 250 new factory jobs. She also hopes to establish Eco Blocks + Tiles as a reliable source of income for people in Gilgil and the surrounding region.