Ahmed said the house is 20 times stronger than houses built with brick walls and can last up to 300 years. The engineer said he was motivated to come up with housing initiative in a bid to reduce the volume of plastic polluting the environment.
Yahaya Ahmed, a Nigerian engineer, has built a house in Kaduna using 14,800 sand-filled plastic bottles as bricks.
Premium Times reports that Ahmed is the director of a non-governmental organisation, Developmental Association of Renewable Energies in Nigeria (DARE).
The engineer said the house was built by his organisation to encourage recycling of waste materials, create jobs and ensure a safer environment in Nigeria.
Explaining the process of building the house, Ahmed said workers filled the plastic bottles with sand and linked them at the neck by an intricate network of strings.
[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=5 layout=1]He said the building is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, adding that it is cheaper to build because the building materials are available on the streets and trash dump centres. The house has three rooms, a toilet and a kitchen.
In terms of strength and durability, Ahmed said the house is “20 times stronger than brick walls houses and can last for over 300 years if constructed properly and carefully”
According to him, the building is fireproof, bulletproof, earthquake-resistant and can adapt to all kinds of climate changes.
Ahmed said anyone with masonry skills can be used as labour in the construction of one building, adding that his organisation has trained many youths.
A Nigerian, Engr Yahaya Ahmed builds house with 14,800 plastic bottles in Kaduna. pic.twitter.com/7fA7RwfU2n
— Association Of Housing Corporations Of Nigeria (@officialAHCN) January 26, 2021Ahmed said the motivation for the initiative is to reduce the volume of plastic that is polluting the environment and causing diseases and other disasters.
In his reaction to the building initiative, the assistant director of African Climate Reporters, Piman Hoffman, urged the Nigerian government to support renewable energy companies to save the nation from the increasing threat of waste pollution.
He noted that plastics are a big threat to the existence of humans, animals and all living organisms.
Netzins React:
Shukran Khairan commented on Facebook: “Plastic bottles house. May it stand the test of time Congrat.”
Bright Ebi Yesaya said: “Yes it’s possible because we have built such. The bottles are filled with mud”
Abubakar Garba Garba said: “Nigerians are very creative and innovative in every aspect”
Adeola Bello Omokeji said: “Very impressive. Thinking outside the box”
Chidi Ikeanumba said: “In a region as temperate, this is a miscalculated move cos the heat would be abysmal, given the fact plastic retains hear.”
