It is known that plastic is a difficult product to decompose, and it is basically made of chains called polymers, which need about 450 years to decay and disintegrate which causes great risks to the environment and humans. And since plastic only really existed 60 to 70 years ago, this means that nearly all plastic is still around in one form or another today.
From here comes the importance of recycling plastic and benefiting from it in environmentally friendly projects, and this is what prompted the young lady, Amina bin Taleb, to work hard to achieve this, as she intends, through her project (plastic bricks). This initiative will make a qualitative leap in the field of construction through the use of bricks made of plastic instead of the usual stone bricks.
Amina said in an interview with "Khuyut": "The idea of the plastic bricks project came when I participated in the sixth YLP6 Young Leaders Program of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). We received training in several aspects, the aim of which was to come up with creative and innovative ideas to preserve the environment."
Eco-friendly ideas
The idea of the plastic bricks project is to reduce two materials that are not environmentally friendly; The most important are plastic and cement, which is considered a very dangerous pollutant, as studies indicate that its production causes more than 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the manufacture of plastic bricks, the percentage of cement is eliminated and replaced with a percentage of plastic. The idea came to the young lady Amina to solve a problem facing Yemenis: “I focused on plastic bottles in particular, because the percentage of their consumption in Yemen is very large and they are not recycled, and although a large percentage of plastic bottles are exported to other countries, the matter will not last long.” Because these countries are working to reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions." She said.
One of the most prominent challenges that Amna is still facing until now is the difficulty of applying all tests on bricks in Yemen, in addition to the difficulty or lack of access to data and information.
The process of manufacturing plastic bricks is by sorting the plastic according to its type, where the bottles are separated from the caps from the "label", then the plastic is washed with chemicals, and it is cut and broken using special crushing tools until it reaches the required degree of crushing. Then, the quantities of cement are replaced with certain amounts of plastic and mixed with materials that help hold them together, to be then placed in their own molds and left to dry to bring out the bricks in their final shape.
A successful experience
Although Amina studied Business Administration - Marketing Department, but she went to work in the climatic aspect three years ago, where she worked for a period in the Public Authority for Environmental Protection in the Climate Change Unit. She described her experience by saying: "I do not agree with the fact that the university major is what guides people, but it is better that specialization and the field of passion and interest do not contradict each other.”
Amina confirms to Khuyut that she did not receive any education abroad in the environment field; As it was a personal interest that she developed and expanded through research and attending courses and workshops in reality or via the Internet, she says: "The Internet is like a sea full of information about everything related to the environment and climate, and there are university majors of this field."
Her last participation was in the twenty-sixth United Nations Climate Conference (COP26), but she made a great effort to rehabilitate herself, and this is what everyone should work on. Human is the one who chooses his life and future, stripped of the circumstances surrounding him, and here comes the correct concept of liberation from all external influences, regardless of what they are.
“We are only required to strive, not to search for the result,” says Amina. She added that her husband, teachers, family and friends were very supportive of her.
Current Challenges
Yemeni youth face various types of challenges when starting their own projects, some of which are related to the lack of references and studies or the difficulty of accessing them, including those related to capital or the surrounding environment. Amina describes these challenges by saying: "I have not received any support from any party so far. As for the community, it was between supporters and skeptics, but it is normal, as the idea was outside the box."
Amina states that one of the most prominent challenges she is still facing until now is the difficulty of applying all tests on bricks in Yemen, in addition to the difficulty or lack of access to data and information.
She continues: "Although there is more than one study on plastic bricks, most of them are difficult to implement in the Yemeni environment due to the unavailability of materials and devices and the difficulty of their importing."
In addition to the above, she pointed out that the idea of renting the necessary machines per hour in huge amounts is one of the difficulties she faces, as well as the lack of cooperation and reservations of factory owners - especially those who break plastic - from providing any information or assistance, even in exchange for money. “We are still trying to do the temperature test, and there is no laboratory in Yemen that does that,” says Amina. The average set-up of a factory with the required machines (manually) is estimated at about $30,000, not including operating expenses.
Amina adds that it is not possible to measure the popularity of the idea in Yemen, and it has not been put on the market yet, and despite the great strides made in this project, but the final product has not yet been completed to come out in its final shape.
It is worth mentioning that plastic represents a real danger to the environment and humans. However, adopting environmentally friendly projects has economic importance, which may also contribute to achieving climate justice and achieving the thirteenth goal of sustainable development, which emphasizes taking urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects.
