Quick Info

Business Description

Trace Eco Solutions is a vibrant social enterprise currently based in Gilgil, Nakuru County and has been in operation since 2014. It produces and sells eco-friendly building products such as roofing tiles and building blocks made out of waste plastic and glass.

Problem/Solution

Solid waste is one of the main environmental polluters especially in urban areas. UNEP estimates 1,000 tons of plastic and glass waste are generated daily in Kenya, with Nakuru at 45 tons per day. However, only less than 10% isrecycled. As a result, they fill up many urban spaces causing pollution and eventually get drained in to rivers during rainy periods. Trace therefore offers an environmentally friendly and economically beneficial solution by using the crushing the glass waste in to glass sand and using it to make different construction products such as paving blocks.

Products/Service

Trace Eco Solutions Limited produces roofing tiles and building blocks made out of waste plastic and glass. The company borrows technological and technical ideas from other proven and renowned international players in the sector such as Eco pavers in Hong Kong and Tereco Pty in South Africa. The machines crush glass waste in to glass sand compress them at certain pressures to form blocks and tiles

Market

There is high demand for building products in Kenya with an estimated 300,000 housing units deficit annually. The demand for roofing tiles has also increased with construction companies importing the tiles to meet market demand. Trace’s target market include: individual home builders, County government contractors, and private real estate developers.

Competitive Landscape

Trace Eco Solutions seeks to pioneer production of ecofriendly, affordable and durable building products from discarded postconsumer waste materials such as glass and plastic waste, industrial leftover fly ash and quarry dust. Current key competitors include producers of concrete tiles, clay tiles and iron roofing sheets. However, Trace’s products stand out in the market by being the only ones made out of two problematic waste materials; glass and plastic. Trace also takes advantage of its competitive strategy of low-cost based and first to market approaches.

Business Model and Distribution Channels

Raw waste materials (plastic and glass) are sourced from both formal and informal recycling enterprises within and outside Nakuru county. Shredded plastics costs between KES 30 – 40 per kg while glass at KES 10 per kg. Production is carried out in Gilgil where the crushed glasses and plastics are pressed into a hard to break roofing tile ready for sale.

Traction to Date

The company has recently set up a pilot manufacturing plant in Gilgil with a capacity of recycling about40 tonnes of plastics in a month and producing about 30,000 roofing tiles. They have also set up a glass recycling line with a capacity of 4 tonnes/hour and a blockmachine that produces at least 3,000 blocks in a day.