En Accra, capital de Ghana, la expansión urbana supera la capacidad de construcción formal, lo que agrava la escasez de viviendas y la acumulación de basura en la ciudad. Frente a este panorama, una empresa local implementa una solución innovadora: fabricar ladrillos a partir de plástico reciclado y arena para construir casas más económicas y sostenibles. El proyecto busca reducir el costo de la vivienda y transformar los residuos plásticos en recursos útiles para la construcción.

De acuerdo con el sitio de noticias DW, el proceso involucra la recolección, limpieza y fundición de residuos plásticos, que se mezclan con arena antes de ser moldeados. Las máquinas producen hasta 25 ladrillos por hora, y cada unidad contiene aproximadamente un tercio de plástico reciclado. Este método no solo disminuye la dependencia del cemento, sino que también aporta soluciones a dos problemas urbanos críticos.

Además, según el portal español OK Diario, la empresa emplea a más de 300 personas para recolectar y clasificar residuos plásticos. En barrios densamente poblados como Nima, la producción de ladrillos supone una mejora tangible en la limpieza urbana y genera incentivos económicos para quienes participan en el proceso.

La fabricación de ladrillos utiliza una mezcla de plástico reciclado y arena. El material se funde a altas temperaturas y se prensa en moldes, lo que da como resultado bloques sólidos y resistentes. El diseño de los ladrillos, con ranuras y orificios centrales, favorece el aislamiento térmico, fundamental en un clima cálido como el de Accra. Así, la construcción resulta eficiente tanto en términos de confort como de sostenibilidad.

El método reduce la cantidad de residuos plásticos que terminan en calles o canales, ayudando a minimizar el impacto ambiental. Según los responsables del proyecto, cada ladrillo producido representa una cantidad significativa de basura retirada del entorno urbano. Además, sustituir parte del cemento por plástico reciclado disminuye las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, ya que la producción de cemento es una de las principales fuentes de CO₂ a nivel global.

Las viviendas construidas con estos ladrillos pueden costar hasta un tercio menos que las edificadas con materiales tradicionales. Esta reducción responde a la menor dependencia del cemento, el uso de materias primas recicladas y la simplificación del proceso constructivo. El modelo permite que más familias accedan a viviendas dignas, al tiempo que impulsa la economía local con la creación de empleo para cientos de personas involucradas en la cadena de reciclaje y producción.

El pago por kilogramo de plástico recolectado crea un incentivo directo para limpiar la ciudad y mejora las condiciones sanitarias en barrios vulnerables. Así, la iniciativa contribuye tanto a la calidad de vida como al desarrollo sostenible de Accra, una urbe que crece a ritmo acelerado y enfrenta desafíos estructurales en materia de vivienda.

A pesar del éxito inicial, el proyecto enfrenta limitaciones para escalar su modelo. Cada casa requiere miles de bloques y la capacidad de producción actual resulta insuficiente para satisfacer la creciente demanda. Según los promotores, ampliar la infraestructura y adquirir equipos adicionales son pasos clave para transformar la idea en una solución de mayor alcance.

El interés internacional y los pedidos de viviendas crecen, pero el desafío radica en la logística y la capacidad industrial. El modelo demuestra que el reciclaje puede convertirse en una herramienta real para el modelo habitacional sin sacrificar resistencia ni calidad. Sin embargo, la viabilidad a gran escala dependerá de inversiones en tecnología y expansión productiva.

Con estas acciones, la transformación de residuos plásticos en ladrillos para viviendas en Ghana representa una alternativa innovadora y sostenible frente a dos de los principales problemas urbanos de Accra: la escasez de vivienda y la acumulación de basura. El proyecto no solo reduce costos y mejora el medio ambiente, sino que también genera empleo y promueve la inclusión social en una ciudad que busca soluciones integrales a su crecimiento acelerado.

As Minnesota’s fraud scandal continues to make headlines, signature legislation signed by Gov. Tim Walz extending the amount of paid leave available to Minnesota workers is already causing major headaches and concerns from critics worried about potential abuse of even more dollars.

The legislation, which took effect on January 1, allows Minnesota workers up to 12 weeks a year off with partial pay to care for a newborn or a sick family member, and up to 12 weeks to recover from their own serious illness. Benefits are capped at 20 weeks a year for employees who take advantage of both.

Two months in, the legislation is already receiving pushback, including from the state’s largest, non-partisan business advocacy organization.

«Beyond just anti-fraud sentiments, employers are reporting a few concerning trends,» Lauryn Schothorst from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce told Fox 9 Minneapolis.

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«Providers are being pressured by patients for the full 12 weeks of leave, even if their condition does not require it. A number of respondents have shared that their employees are making more on paid leave than the wage replacement thresholds in law. Employees are going on vacation or to music festivals while supposedly on leave. These anecdotes don’t necessarily reveal fraud or a lack of oversight by the department. They highlight concerns with the broad eligibility and limited employer recourse elements of the law. To employers, overuse is abuse.»

Two Republican lawmakers who spoke to Fox News Digital agreed with that assessment.

«The chamber is right,» State Sen. Michael Holmstrom said. «Minnesota is not a business-friendly state. Employers were already offering this benefit and then the state got in between employers and their employees, which it has no business doing.»

Holmstrom says a major employer in his district has seen a 700% increase in paid leave usage since the law took effect and the company is unable to backfill those positions with skilled workers to compensate.

The result, Holmstrom explained, is carrying on with business as usual without replacements and providing a lower level of service. 

State Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital he also agreed with the chamber and suggested fraud concerns are valid, saying there will be «no real enforcement» because the «state removed the employer from the oversight and administration of the program.»

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Koran explained: «The program isn’t being used as intended, which Republicans predicted. It was sold as a replacement for short and long-term leave replacement. Now it’s a complex sick leave program with the effective date on day one, not the traditional seventh day of injury or illness.»

«The liberal use guidelines mean employees can take a day off every week, or every Monday and Friday for a long weekend. It’s a huge negative impact on employers’ ability to find substitute labor and puts Minnesota in the bottom tier of business competitiveness.»

Ultimately, Koran says the law will result in fewer jobs, lower pay, decreased benefits and a «continued exodus of business creation and expansion out of Minnesota.»

 On social media, critics have echoed similar sentiments, with some pointing out that most businesses in Minnesota already offered paid leave, making state interference unnecessary. 

«No way,» Brian McClung, former spokesperson for former Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty posted on X. «I am shocked – shocked! If only someone had warned the MN Democrat trifecta that creating an expensive, cumbersome, bureaucratic system might go badly (when the vast majority of businesses already offered paid leave without a mandate).»

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.

The new state paid leave program is being enforced by a new government agency called the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development with more than 400 full-time employees overseeing the process, causing uneasiness from some given the multiple state agency bureaucracies that oversaw the massive fraud scandal. 

Earlier this year, when the law was about to take effect, Fox News Digital reported on concerns that the bill could open the door up for even more fraud, with Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, describing the legislation at the time as the «next billion-dollar fraud.»

Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. January 5, 2026.  (Reuters/Tim Evans)

«When you build a multi-billion-dollar state benefit program with weak oversight, fraudsters line up,» Townhall columnist and Minnesota resident Dustin Grage, told Fox News Digital in January. «We’ve already seen what happens in Minnesota. The paid family leave system will be a magnet for abuse.» 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development defended the program. 

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«Minnesota is not unique in enacting a state paid family and medical leave program – we are one of 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have done so. The United States is an outlier – it’s one of only seven countries worldwide that lacks a national paid family and medical leave program. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics noted in 2023 that 73% of American civilian workers lack access to paid family leave,» the statement said. 

 «We recognize that Paid Leave is a big change for Minnesota employers. That’s why we’ve worked closely with employers around the state, plus many employer advocacy groups, to develop tools and materials to make administering Paid Leave as smooth as possible. We have received positive feedback from many employers, and we are consistently improving service offerings.»

The spokesperson added that the department «takes program integrity seriously.»

«While the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has not shared the underlying data from its survey, the Chamber has presented its objections to paid family and medical leave programs for years at the Minnesota Legislature. Despite these objections, the Chamber has been a good partner in helping educate employers about Paid Leave.»

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing backlash for criticizing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for the Pentagon’s spending on luxury items, including food for the miliary, despite similar expenses under former Biden administration Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

The top Senate Democrat said Hegseth’s spending in the final month of fiscal year 2025, $93.4 billion, which included millions of dollars on steak, seafood and furniture, could have instead been used to extend the Affordable Care Act.

Social media users panned Schumer online for the remarks, accusing him of cherry-picking a politically convenient area to care about spending, lambasting him for not supporting feeding high-quality meals to military members and citing similar defense spending during the Biden era. 

«Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS,» Schumer wrote. «But instead of lowering American’s healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano.

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«A true grifter in every sense of the word.»

During the Biden administration, Austin’s spending nearly mirrored Hegseth’s. Food expenses across administrations went toward feeding members of the military, according to the nonprofit Open the Books, which conducted the spending analyses.

There is no record of Schumer scrutinizing Austin’s spending. Fox News Digital reached out to the senator’s office for comment on the matter.

Defense spending is historically modest compared to past decades, representing a small fraction of the United States’ gross domestic product at 3.7%. Its share of the GDP has decreased significantly since the 1950s, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

Schumer’s grievance also comes as he leads Senate Democrats’ resistance to funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for about a month. Democrats have demanded changes to the department’s deportation policies, which are nonstarters for Republicans. Essential DHS components, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remain operational at this stage, but some agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, are facing pains as workers go unpaid.

Critics slammed Schumer over the comment on social media. 

Fox News analyst Guy Benson called Schumer «the leader of the ‘Learing Center’ fraud party,» in reference to a viral video about welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, saying Schumer «finally [discovered] one spending line item he’s willing to cut.»

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said Schumer «thinks it’s bad that U.S. troops get to eat steak & lobster during deployment» and that the Affordable Care Act is a «failed» plan that makes healthcare more expensive.

«Remember that Democrats would have you eating MREs,» another commenter posted, referring to military-issued «Meals Ready to Eat.»

«Chuck Schumer hates the troops,» Republican communicator Steve Guest wrote. 

A commentary writer for the conservative Washington Examiner said, «You said nothing in 2024.»

Another social media user told Schumer he «should’ve done the 30 seconds of research to find Lloyd Austin’s September 2024 expenditures before posting. Missed your outrage back then.»

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon Oct. 30, 2024, in Arlington, Va.  (Getty Images)

Hegseth’s spending in September 2025 was the highest the Pentagon has seen on grants and contracts since September 2008. Austin, however, held the record before that, spending $79.1 billion in September 2024.

The last month of the fiscal year has long been notorious for spending that appears lavish as agencies face pressure to «use it or lose it» so that they can justify keeping their budget for the next year. Contract and grant payment schedules also include September due dates, which can contribute to the spending uptick.

In 2024 under Austin, according to an audit by Open the Books, «the military spent $103.7 million on meat, fish and poultry in September, partially because it ordered raw lobster tail 147 times for $6.1 million. It also dropped $16.6 million on ribeye steak, $6.4 million on salmon and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab.»

War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expenses for September 2025 came under scrutiny in 2026.  (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

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Similar to Austin, Hegseth spent $6.9 million on lobster tail, Open the Books found. Austin spent about $1.5 million more than Hegseth on ribeye steaks. Hegseth more than quadrupled Austin’s spending on Alaskan king crab, while Austin’s spending on salmon was roughly six times that of Hegseth’s. The food went toward feeding military personnel, the nonprofit noted.

The Biden and Trump administration’s Pentagon expenses saw parallels for other line items, too. Hegseth’s $5.3 million on Apple products is comparable to Austin’s $5.1 million. Both spent more than $1 million on musical instruments. Hegseth tripled Austin’s spending on footrests at about $111,000, according to the data. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the Pentagon.