A Nigerian civil engineering researcher, John Eso, is conducting advanced research into the use of plastic waste and other sustainable materials in concrete production, with the aim of improving durability while reducing environmental impact.
Eso, a graduate student of Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University in the United States, works at the institution’s Sustainability and Nanomechanics Laboratory, where his research focuses on failure analysis, materials characterisation, and long term structural reliability.
Speaking with Thisday about his motivation, Eso said his work is driven by concerns about how construction materials affect both infrastructure performance and the environment.
“I am a graduate student in Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University, working in the Sustainability and Nanomechanics Laboratory,” he said. “At my core, I am driven by one question: How can we build structures that last longer, perform better, and cost the planet far less?”
Eso said his interest in sustainable materials was shaped by his early life in Nigeria, where he lived for more than 25 years and witnessed the effects of poor waste management, particularly plastic pollution.
“Having been born and raised in Nigeria, where I lived for over 25 years, I witnessed firsthand how waste, especially plastic waste, has become one of the greatest drivers of environmental degradation,” he said.
According to him, indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste has contributed to flooding, environmental pollution, and public health risks in many communities. “When plastic waste is burned, it releases carbon emissions into the atmosphere. When it is dumped indiscriminately, it clogs drainage systems, floods communities, and degrades entire ecosystems,” Eso said.
He described personal experiences of flooding in his neighbourhood, which he said made the problem more immediate and influenced the direction of his research. “Drainage systems that once worked efficiently became overwhelmed by plastic waste. During heavy rainfall, roads flooded, estates became waterlogged, and public spaces disappeared under water,” he said. “I often had to walk through flooded streets simply to get home.”
Eso said these experiences led him to explore whether plastic waste could be repurposed for construction rather than discarded. “What if this waste could become a resource instead of a problem?” he asked.
His academic inquiry led him to existing studies on waste based concrete, including research by Usman et al. (2015) on the use of polythene waste in concrete and Albano et al. (2009) on replacing sand with polyethylene terephthalate particles. He said he went on to study more than 100 peer reviewed research papers on sustainable construction materials.
To complement the literature, Eso carried out multiple experimental programmes at the concrete laboratory of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, where he tested waste based materials in fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, fresh concrete, and hardened concrete.
He said the research received recognition within the university and was later published in the International Journal of Research in Civil Engineering and Technology. “The outcome was transformative,” Eso said, noting that the work was recognised within the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at the institution.
He added that the research later contributed to his appointment to the team of the Sustainable Green Environment Initiative.
At North Carolina State University, Eso said his current work builds on earlier findings by examining the use of PET waste fibres, fly ash, recycled aggregates, nano silica, carbon nanotubes, and self healing materials in concrete systems. He is also involved in research on geopolymer concrete, which he described as a lower carbon alternative to conventional cement based materials.
“The vision is ambitious but necessary,” he said. “Smarter concrete that is stronger, more durable, more resilient, and significantly more sustainable.”
According to him, the research has implications beyond environmental protection, particularly in job creation and economic development through waste recycling and material innovation.
“Transforming waste into valuable construction materials can create new industries, generate jobs, stimulate economic growth, and support community development,” he said.
