Wapa Nawa’s plastic brick innovation: a sustainable solution to Namibia’s housing crisis and environmental goals

By Dilia Mazula 

In a groundbreaking development, Wapa Nawa, a recycling centre located in Rundu, has officially launched Namibia’s first office constructed entirely from plastic bricks, an initiative aimed at simultaneously addressing housing needs and environmental sustainability challenges in the country. 

Ladislaus Shiketere, the CEO of the project, shared the centre’s mission to provide an alternative to conventional building materials, saying, “bricks are becoming more expensive, the use of cement is becoming more expensive, and also the use of water during construction.” He emphasised the cost-effectiveness of their plastic bricks as a solution to Namibia’s housing crisis, adding, “our materials are a little bit cheaper compared to the traditional ones. So that can become at least a solution as well to the Namibian housing crisis that we have.” 

Shiketere explained that it took about four years for the Rundu community to accept the idea of using plastics for building houses, “but [that] as time goes by, they are seeing the structure and the type of bricks that we are making. So, their involvement was now also coming in due to the proof that they are able to see.” 

Highlighting the community’s active participation, he explained that “there are also households that are starting to practise the concept of waste segregation. They collect plastics and bring them to our site. while others bring them to make an income (with the company buying plastic at N$2/kg), some are bringing them free of charge, as a way to support the project. So, there’s a whole chain of circular economies that’s being created.” 

He also acknowledged the potential for income generation through community support, saying, “if there’s enough support in the project, then everybody that sees a plastic, they will be motivated to recycle if they see that there’s a bit of income that they can be able to get from it.” 

Addressing concerns about the durability of the plastic bricks,Shiketere emphasised, “one thing about our bricks, they are water resistance, they cannot allow water to penetrate.” He also addressed fire resistance, saying, “we melt the plastic and add sand in it, once the sand is involved, they become fire resistant.” 

At the same time Shiketere guaranteed the strength of the bricks, saying that they underwent thorough testing in the laboratory, and that, “the bricks are really compatible with climate change. We got what is called the MPA strength that determines how strong they are. And at the same time, they just respond the same as the other normal bricks.” 

Turning his attention to the future, Shiketere said, “although there are many challenges that we were experiencing here and there, in the future we want to modernise and also make our process automatic in terms of having some machines. And that will also help us to reduce carbon emission as well.” 

Speaking about the project’s expansion and collaboration with municipalities, he noted, “There are some municipalities that called us and even some individuals want to partner with us. Coming next year, we will be looking into that space to see how we would want to expand in other areas as well that meet our services.” 

He emphasised the centre’s commitment and eagerness to collaborate with various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Environment, municipalities, the Namibian Housing Enterprise (NHE), and other entities involved in environmental issues with town councils, saying, “as we are promoting the concept of recycling and also trying to help with the housing crisis, there are clients that are coming that would want their houses to be built using the same product. And we are welcoming them.” 

Shiketere highlighted the broader environmental impact of the bricks, explaining that, “Namibia was once the cleanest country, Windhoek was once the cleanest city. But we lost that because of the number of plastics that are being deposited everywhere. So, we’re looking forward to seeing how we can simultaneously solve these problems by collecting plastics.” 

The Wapa Nawa Recycling Centre’s initiative aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. By repurposing plastics to address housing challenges and promoting environmentally friendly practices, the centre contributes to creating sustainable and resilient cities, linking their efforts to a global agenda for a better future.