When Plastic Becomes Public Infrastructure: How African Cities Are Turning Waste into Shade and Shelter

When Plastic Becomes Public Infrastructure: How African Cities Are Turning Waste into Shade and Shelter

AI-generated conceptual illustration. It does not depict an actual project or location.

Could discarded plastic become part of the infrastructure people use every day? Projects in Ghana and Sierra Leone offer two different ways to explore that question: one turns plastic waste into public structures and seating; the other uses purpose-built market canopies to help people cope with extreme heat.

The examples are related, but they should not be confused. Ghana’s Mckingtorch Africa has used recycled plastic in public infrastructure. Freetown’s market shade covers, by contrast, use steel frames and Danpalon panels, not recycled plastic. Together, the projects show how material reuse and climate adaptation can contribute to more sustainable cities.

The idea was highlighted in a LinkedIn post shared with eLanka. The details below draw on project information from Mckingtorch Africa and the Climate Resilience Center, alongside reporting by DW and YEN.com.gh.

Ghana: plastic waste becomes a bus shelter and seating

On 3 February 2022, social enterprise Mckingtorch Africa commissioned what it described as Ghana’s first solar-powered bus shelter made from plastic waste. The shelter was installed at Dzorwulu Junction in Accra as a proof-of-concept project: a practical demonstration of how discarded materials might be used in public-space construction.

The structure incorporated beams made from recycled plastic, discarded flip-flops, used tyres, plastic bottles and gallons, plastic bottle tops, and burnt clay bricks. It also featured solar power and 3D-printed components. According to reporting by YEN.com.gh, the project aimed to explore plastic beams as a possible alternative to wood and other conventional construction materials. DW also reported on the shelter.

Mckingtorch returned to public infrastructure in September 2025, when it repaired and improved a cooling shelter on the Aburi Mountain stretch outside Accra. The shelter is used by thousands of walkers and joggers at weekends. The organisation said the existing eight-seat shelter had broken down, leaving its metal skeleton seats.

For the repair, Mckingtorch used recycled plastic wood boards made with around 30,100 pure water sachets, small plastic bags commonly used for drinking water, and approximately 14.4kg of plastic waste. The organisation says the work restored durable seating for people using the route. Its project account describes this as part of a wider effort to improve public spaces and address environmental risks.

AI-generated illustration of recycled-plastic boards; not a photograph of Mckingtorch’s materials.

Sierra Leone: market shade designed for heat resilience

Freetown’s market shade cover project addresses a related urban challenge, but it is not a plastic-waste construction project. The Climate Resilience Center, part of the Atlantic Council’s Arsht-Rock initiative, worked with local vendors and a newly established market women’s association to install shade covers at three outdoor markets.

The covers are made from lightweight, waterproof, semi-translucent Danpalon panels, supported by steel pipes. Danpalon is a type of panel material designed to provide cover while allowing some daylight through. Solar panels collect energy during the day and power lights at night, helping market activity continue for longer. The project also includes a small monthly contribution from direct beneficiaries to support maintenance and potential expansion.

The need is significant. The Climate Resilience Center reports that nearly half of Freetown’s markets have no formal infrastructure or shade cover. Outdoor and informal workers account for 52 per cent of the city’s population, with women making up the majority. The project estimates that 2,300 market women benefit directly, helping safeguard the financial security of an estimated 11,600 dependants.

Shade can make a practical difference to vendors and shoppers exposed to heat and rain. The covers can help protect produce and animal products from spoilage, while extending the daily window for safer, more comfortable trading. Freetown’s average maximum temperature of 29.9°C is projected to rise to 35°C by 2030, according to the project page. The city has also worked with Chief Heat Officer Eugenia Kargbo and a Heat Health Task Force on heat resilience.

AI-generated illustration of a shaded market; it does not depict Freetown’s project site.

What these projects show about the circular economy

A circular economy aims to keep materials in use for longer, by recovering, reusing and redesigning them instead of treating them as waste after a single use. Upcycling means turning discarded material into a product or structure with a new use.

The Ghana example applies these ideas directly to plastic waste infrastructure. The Freetown project demonstrates a complementary approach: designing public infrastructure around local needs, in this case, protection from heat and rain, alongside lighting for market activity.

The potential benefits of this kind of thinking extend beyond the structures themselves:

• Circular economy: recover materials and create new value from waste.
• Climate adaptation: improve comfort in heat-exposed places such as taxi queues, bus stops and public waiting areas.
• Resource efficiency: explore alternatives to conventional construction materials where they are appropriate.
• Local opportunity: support work in collecting, sorting, processing, fabrication, installation and maintenance.

These benefits are possibilities to assess, not automatic results. A project needs to demonstrate that its materials and design work safely and reliably in the conditions where people will use them.

AI-generated conceptual illustration of a hillside cooling shelter; not an image of the Aburi site.

Safety and durability must come first

Turning plastic waste into useful infrastructure is not simply a matter of shaping and installing it. As Mckingtorch’s bus shelter reporting notes, the proof-of-concept also aimed to explore how materials would respond to adverse weather and how durable they might be. Public structures must be assessed for:

1. Fire resistance: materials and construction need to meet appropriate fire-safety requirements.
2. Structural strength: the design must safely withstand expected loads, use and weather.
3. UV durability: sunlight can degrade some plastics over time, so resistance and maintenance need consideration.
4. End-of-life recyclability: designers should consider what happens to components when they are damaged or reach the end of their useful life.

Those checks matter for any setting where people sit, wait, trade or gather. They should be built into planning, material selection and ongoing maintenance, not left until after installation.

AI-generated illustration of a plastic sorting point; it does not depict workers from a named project.

What might this mean for Sri Lanka?

Plastic waste management is an established public concern in Sri Lanka, including marine plastic pollution along the coastline, post-consumer waste in urban areas and community and school recycling drives. The African examples offer ideas worth examining, not proof that the same projects already exist in Sri Lanka.

Municipalities, designers and community organisations could consider whether locally tested approaches might help provide shade and seating at bus stands and public waiting areas in hot towns, while also supporting collection and sorting jobs. Some locations may benefit more from conventional shade structures, like Freetown’s, while others might be able to assess whether recycled materials are suitable for particular components.

Any adaptation would need local testing, appropriate standards, clear maintenance plans and careful consideration of fire safety, structural strength, UV exposure and what happens to the material at end of life.

At a glance

The broader lesson is that sustainable cities need more than better waste management. They also need better ways to design, use and recover materials, and public infrastructure that responds to people’s everyday needs. The future of waste is not necessarily disposal. It could be redesign.

Sources

• Mckingtorch Africa: Fixing the City of Accra, One Step at a Time
• Climate Resilience Center: Freetown Market Shade Cover Project
• DW: A Bus Shelter Made of Plastic Waste in Ghana
• YEN.com.gh: Mckingtorch Africa Unveils Ghana’s First-Ever Solar-Powered Bus Shelter Made from Plastic Waste
• LinkedIn post shared with eLanka

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