{
  "id": 32606,
  "title": "Ghana capital turns plastic waste into cheaper street paving",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/ghana-capital-turns-plastic-waste-into-cheaper-street-paving",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-01T10:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/ghanas-capital-discards-300-tons-of-plastic-per-day-now-they-mix-it-with-sand-and-use-it-as-street-paving-that-is-cheaper-than-concrete/articleshow/132785856.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ghana's capital city is turning plastic waste into economical street paving, a solution developed by Nelson Boateng, a computer network engineering graduate. Boateng's company, Nelplast, began producing plastic flooring in 2021, repurposing the plastic that Ghana struggles to contain and recycle.\n\nAccra generates 2,800 to 3,000 tons of solid waste daily, with an estimated 300 to 450 tons of that being plastic. However, the issue isn't just the volume, but where it ends up. Only about 5% of the country's daily 5,000 tons of discarded plastic is sent to recycling facilities; the rest ends up in landfills, illegal dumps, streets, waterways, or is burned openly. In 2026, the Ghana Circular Economy Center highlighted this problem while calling for investment in collection.\n\nNelson Boateng founded Nelplast to give commercial value to this waste. Instead of burning, the plastic is collected by scavengers, processed, and transformed into paving blocks that cost about $1, compared to the $1.50 for conventional concrete blocks. These blocks are durable, crack-resistant, and have a color that doesn't fade.\n\nThe company employs over 560 people directly and indirectly, and has already paved residential areas, a chapel courtyard, a government ministry, and sidewalks in various locations. Despite a bottleneck in production capacity, the potential is clear - Ghana's plastic problem could become a solution for affordable, durable, and sustainable street paving.",
  "summary": "Ghana is pioneering a sustainable solution to its plastic pollution crisis by turning waste into economical paving blocks for highways. Led by entrepreneur Nelson Boateng at Nelplast, the initiative compensates plastic collectors, significantly benefiting the community. The resulting paving blocks are not only resilient but also priced competitively against concrete, effectively tackling…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}