The Waste that crafts a Child’s Future    

While the world was at a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, Makafui Awuku, found clarity in crisis. Where others saw plastic waste piling in landfills and gutters, choking communities and polluting the environment, Makafui saw raw potential. He envisioned a way to transform discarded plastic into durable, functional desks for classrooms. This groundbreaking initiative tackles the mounting crisis of plastic pollution and provides a pragmatic solution to the chronic shortage of educational furniture in underserved communities.

Makafui Awuku is a social innovator and environmentalist, known for leading an initiative that transforms plastic waste into school desks. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Climate Change at the University of Ghana and manages the Tech and Entrepreneurship Center at Academic City University. Makafui develops climate tech programs centered on sustainability, the circular economy, and community empowerment.

Breathing Through Pollution

Makafui, who spent most of his upbringing in Accra and parts of the Volta Region, witnessed the consequences of Ghana’s waste crisis firsthand. In his community, plastic waste clogged gutters and piled up on street corners, often burned in the open, turning the sky grey and the air toxic. A reality Makafui could no longer endure.

“I was afraid I was going to die. I have asthmatic allergies. People were always burning plastic, and the poisonous chemicals kept irritating my lungs. It was choking. But while politicians made noise about it, nothing changed. That was when I realized that, the future I wanted must be created by myself,” he confessed.

With this conviction, Makafui registered a formal project. While the world retreated into lockdown, he leaned in. He began experimenting with plastic sachets and bottles, two of the most abundant waste types in Ghana. From these, he developed his first leather-like prototype, crafting footwear, bags, and purses.

“We sold a lot and even exported some. But I kept asking, what else can we do? What bigger problems can this innovation solve?”

Plastic to Purpose: Tackling the 2 million Desk Deficit

One glaring problem loomed large: Ghana’s schools face a staggering 2 million desk deficit. In many underserved areas, children are forced to learn on bare floors, risking respiratory illnesses and dropping out altogether.

“I began to wonder; can’t we divert plastic waste from landfills into classrooms? Could we turn that same waste killing our children into something that empowers them?” Makafui reflected.

Makafui started experimenting, creating sturdy, and weather-resistant boards from heat-treated plastic waste. These boards now serve as the raw material for classroom desks.

In just under a year, Makafui and his team have already supplied over 5,000 desks, with more orders pending from both government and private partners. The first 100 desks were deployed to five schools in Amasaman, with another 100 heading to Chorkor, a coastal community in Accra.

What began as a personal fight against pollution has evolved into one of Ghana’s most revolutionary sustainability movement.

Building Sustainable Structures from Waste

For Makafui, solving the desk deficit is just one piece of the puzzle. His heat-treated plastic boards have a broader purpose. They can also be used to build toilets, reading libraries, canteens, and even robotics kits for STEM education in rural schools.

“We still have children dying from cholera because their schools have no toilets. Why not use the same material to fix that too?” he noted.

His vision is to replace wood, an expensive and environmentally harmful material with recycled plastic, reducing deforestation and fighting climate change while meeting urgent infrastructure needs.

“Plastic is abundant, and wood is becoming more expensive, not to mention the environmental cost of cutting down trees. So, if we can replace wood with plastic, we save forests, reduce carbon emissions, and give schools what they need to function,” he explained.

Changing the Mindset of a Throwaway Culture

Makafui is not just innovating with plastic waste, he’s reengineering how the next generation thinks about the environment. At the organization’s headquarters, it’s not unusual to see a group of excited students in uniforms, their hands busy molding discarded plastic into art, accessories, or practical tools. Through regular workshops and creative sessions, these young learners are introduced to the concept of waste as value.

“They make crafts with waste and take them back to school. We are teaching them at an early stage that waste is not something to fear or hide. It’s a resource. And when you see something as a resource, it transforms your thinking.” Makafui explained.

For many of these children, it’s their first time handling plastic waste with purpose rather than disgust. As they sort, cut, assemble, and innovate, the lessons stretch far beyond recycling. They begin to associate creativity with responsibility, and problem-solving with possibility.

“We’re trying to interrupt the cycle. We grew up being told to throw waste out of sight, and out of mind. But this generation can be different. They can see waste as a tool not trash. That simple shift in perception is powerful.” Makafui added.

By engaging children early, Makafui planting a seed that could blossom into a new culture, one where environmental consciousness and innovation intersects.

Innovation Rooted in Empathy

Makafui’s outfit is more than a factory. It is a movement rooted in design-thinking, empathy, and circular economy principles. Makafui’s team do not just collect waste, they have redesigned how waste is perceived and recovered. At the center of this groundbreaking invention is the transparent plastic receptacle.

“When people can see the waste inside, it changes their behavior. Visibility creates accountability. People are less likely to dump food waste into a clearly visible plastic-only bin.” He explained.

These receptacles, deployed in schools, churches, hotels, and events, collect uncontaminated plastic, allowing for more efficient recycling.

“Contaminated waste is expensive and less valuable. We had to change how people interacted with waste.”  Makafui added.

He also launched the Drop It Off app, currently operating on Android, as a digital extension of the physical infrastructure. The app maps all designated plastic drop-off points across major cities and connects users to women in nearby communities who collect and sell the waste.

“The goal is not just clean cities. It’s empowering people, especially women, to earn a living.” He emphasized

Women at the Frontline of Sustainability

Makafui believes that any true sustainability movement must include women at its core. Many of the employees in his organization are women over 40, single mothers, widows, or caregivers who previously worked in the shadows of the informal waste sector.

“About 60% of the waste workforce in Ghana are women. But they are earning below minimum wage. That’s unacceptable,” he said.

In this organization, these women are given more than jobs. They operate machines, manage logistics, supervise recovery operations, and receive training that equips them for leadership.

“Fixing the waste problem isn’t just about technology. It’s about justice, and if we truly want to transform the system, we must empower the very women who hold that system together.”

Scaling Impact, Locally and Globally

From Ghana to Zimbabwe and Zambia, Makafui’s groundbreaking initiative is growing. The next phase includes expanding factories, hiring up to 1,000 youth, and developing larger recycling systems tailored to the needs of cities across the continent.

“Our model of scaling is not about doing new things. It’s about doing what we know works and doing it better, wider, and deeper,” Makafui said.

Makafui is also deeply involved in shaping the policies that will sustain such expansion. In 2020, he played a key role in drafting Ghana’s Plastic Waste Management Policy, helping to create a legal and institutional framework for circular economy practices. His advocacy extends beyond Ghana’s borders; he regularly engages with ECOWAS, offering insight into how environmental sustainability can be meaningfully embedded across West African governance systems. Makafui admonishes individuals to rethink their relationship with waste and governments to implement stronger policies.

Conclusion

This multi-dimensional innovation of turning waste into a furniture offers a healthier, inclusive, and sustainable learning environment. For Makafui, each sheet of recycled plastic is a statement, a challenge to conventional systems, and most of all, a promise to the next generation that their right to safe, inspiring educational spaces does not have to be sacrificed in the name of scarcity.