Continental Renewable Energy Co. Ltd (Corec) provides competitively priced roof tiles and fence posts from recycled plastic for the development of affordable housing units, while providing jobs in low-income areas.

The Corec roofing tiles are made from a plastic composite suitable for roofing residential homes and commercial premises. The tiles consist of mixed post-consumer waste blended with sand. Besides plastic roofing titles, Corec manufactures fencing posts, lumber planks, and paving slabs as a means to mitigate deforestation rates. The company seeks to expand their business from Kenya to the entire African region.

As a part of the collection and supply of plastic waste in Kenya, the company has partnered with five community youth groups who organised unemployed waste pickers to secure the delivery of waste plastic from landfills to the factory. More than 250 young people collect plastic waste as first step in the production stage. Youth groups are a large part of the cooperative movement ensuring social and economic rights and mobility for poor young people in Kenya, where almost three-quarters of the population is under the age of 30.

“For me, the bottom line is to provide Kenyans with decent, affordable and durable building materials which ultimately translate into to low cost-housing,” says Dr Oscar, Founder and CEO of Corec.

Almost 80% of global waste accumulates in landfills or the natural environment. In Nairobi, where Continental Renewable Energy Co. Ltd (Corec) has their main production, 560 tonnes of plastic waste is produced every day. According to the company, 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills have been recycled and 300 jobs have been created since the launch in 2013.