Teshie LEKMA 12 Clinches Top Award for Transforming Plastic Waste into Durable Building Bricks

Teshie LEKMA 12 Junior High School has emerged as the winner of the Waste Segregation and Innovation Challenge in Accra, marking a significant milestone in Ghana's environmental sustainability efforts. The school's innovative approach involved transforming discarded plastic into durable building bricks, a feat that secured them the top spot in a competition designed to foster environmental consciousness among the youth. This achievement leads a busy news cycle on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, as Ghanaian media outlets highlight community-led solutions to national challenges in their daily showcases of the news landscape.

For their groundbreaking project, the Teshie LEKMA 12 team was awarded a trophy, a laptop, and a GH¢5,000 seed fund to further develop their recycling initiatives. The competition, organized by StratNova in partnership with the Mohinani Group, also recognized other outstanding contributions from the region. Teshie Salem Presbyterian JHS and Teshie LEKMA 5 JHS took the second and third positions, respectively, showcasing a high level of creativity and commitment to waste segregation across the Teshie municipality. This initiative encouraged students to rethink waste as a resource through a series of seminars and creative projects.

The project demonstrates how grassroots innovation can effectively address the plastic menace plaguing urban centers. By converting plastic waste into useful construction materials, the participating students showcased a circular economy model that aligns with broader government efforts to promote environmental education. The Mohinani Group, through this partnership, emphasized their long-term commitment to sustainability and waste reduction, proving that educational platforms are vital for instilling lasting change in environmental habits among the next generation.

The success of Teshie LEKMA 12 serves as a compelling blueprint for other educational institutions across Ghana. With the provided seed funding and national recognition, the school is now well-positioned to scale its recycling efforts and inspire more institutions to adopt rigorous waste segregation practices. As the headlines across various national newspapers indicate, such educational achievements are becoming central to the public discourse on urban development, proving that youthful ingenuity is a key component in achieving a cleaner and greener future for the country.