Innovative Utilization of Plastic Waste for Eco-Friendly Construction: an Empirical Assessment of Nigeria's Recycling Industry and Eco-Friendly Building Applications

The accumulation of plastic waste poses serious environmental problems worldwide. Nigeria has an annual production rate of about 32 million tons of solid waste, that is 67% of the total solid waste produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Recycling plastic waste into construction materials is a potential solution to achieving a circular economy, which will mitigate both the crisis in waste management and ensure a sustainable supply of building materials. This paper evaluated the potential of the plastic waste recycling business in Nigeria in terms of capacity to collect waste, the technological capacities, market preparedness and limitations of this business to generate environment-friendly construction materials. The study used purposive sampling, and eight plastic recycling enterprises were selected in six states in Nigeria (Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Kwara, Kaduna, and Ondo) and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in June to August 2025. All these companies process 221 tons of plastic waste every month. We gathered data using structured questionnaires (39 questions on 10 domains), visiting the field, and semi-structured interviews with the senior management. Analysis was used in terms of descriptive statistics and frequency distributions and Exact Tests by Fisher to test categorical associations. The surveyed companies (100%) used only mechanical recycling, where HDPE (87.5%), PET (87.5%), and LDPE (75%) as the main recycling processes. There is only one company (12.5%) that manufactures construction materials (floor tiles) at the moment, but half of the eight intend to enter the market. Significant operational issues are waste contamination (87.5%), high costs of operation (75%), and transportation problems (75%). The statistical analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the processing of water sachets and the intention to venture into the production of construction materials (Fisher Exact Test, p = 0.028, Cramer V = 0.775). Nevertheless, two-thirds of firms were positive about the prospects of the industry within five years, which was fuelled by increased environmental concern and innovative potential. The plastic recycling industry in Nigeria has a lot of potential, although it is still in its infancy. The industry needs to upgrade the technology over and above the mechanical recycling, better waste sorting systems, a policy supportive environment, and capacity building. The companies acknowledge several positive consequences on the environment (reduction of landfills, mitigation of ocean pollution, resource preservation) and express great interest in the collaborative networks (100%). The growth and environmental contribution of the sector and other strategic interventions, such as technology transfer, regulatory development and facilitation of markets could be increased.