A circular economy project launched at the CFA BTP in Ducos was honored in Paris with a national innovation award
They’re twenty years old, they’re students in the BTS program in Construction Economic Management, and they’ve just won a prestigious award in Paris for an idea that’s as simple as it is revolutionary: recycling the millions of plastic bottles consumed each year in Martinique to manufacture electrical conduits for public works construction sites. Welcome to the world of EcoGaine, a project that brings together the construction industry and sustainable development.
Martinique, an island with two artistic faces
To understand EcoGaine, you first need to grasp the Martinican paradox. On this 1,128 km² Caribbean island, bottled water consumption is at an all-time high. The reason? Chlordecone. This pesticide, used extensively in banana plantations until 1993, has contaminated much of the island’s soil and groundwater. As a result, decades later, the people of Martinique remain among the heaviest consumers of bottled water in France.
This overconsumption generates a mountain of plastic waste. Currently, these bottles are collected and compacted into bales by local companies such as Bâti or Anticyclage in Ducos, and then… shipped to mainland France for processing. Thousands of kilometers traveled, a considerable carbon footprint, and ultimately, a raw material that leaves the region without creating any local value.
It was this absurd realization that led to the creation of EcoGaine.
An idea born from a chance encounter
It all began with a presentation by Olivier, a member of the WinLab’ incubator committee, who came to speak to students at the CFA BTP in Ducos about an environmental issue: plastic waste pollution in Martinique. To Hartock Nahun and Marie-Anne Amar, second-year students in the BTS program in Construction Economics and Management, it clicked right away.
«The idea came to me in an instant,» says Hartock Nahun.
«We thought to ourselves: We’re in the construction industry; we use plastic materials every day on job sites—so why not close the loop?»
The two apprentices then embarked on intensive online research, studied the processes for processing recycled plastic, and organized factory tours.
The Company Tour Tubulex During the Industries Open House (the «Touristériel»), they get a hands-on understanding of how TPC conduits are manufactured —those red or black corrugated pipes seen on every road construction site, which are used to protect buried electrical cables. The manufacturing process, which is relatively simple, seems to them to be perfectly suited to using recycled raw materials.
EcoGaine: The Circular Economy Applied to the Construction Industry
The EcoGaine concept can be summed up in one sentence: transforming plastic bottles collected in Martinique into cable protection conduits (CPCs) for use on the island’s road and utility infrastructure projects. This short, local supply chain addresses several challenges at once.
From an environmental perspective, the project drastically reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting waste to the mainland. There is no longer any need to ship containers of compacted plastic across the Atlantic: the material is processed on site, just a few kilometers from where it is collected.
Economically speaking, EcoGaine creates value locally. Instead of exporting a raw material, Martinique could produce a manufactured good with high added value, creating jobs and fostering expertise within the region. Construction companies in Martinique, which are major consumers of TPC conduits, would become customers of a 100% local supply chain.
From a social perspective, the project raises awareness among construction professionals about the challenges of sustainable development and demonstrates that the construction sector can play an active role in the ecological transition, defying the stereotypes that have long been associated with it.
A virtuous cycle in four steps
The project leaders have devised a comprehensive process designed to fit the realities on the ground in Martinique:
- Consumption and Collection: Construction workers, who consume large amounts of bottled water under the Caribbean sun, are the first link in the chain. Their empty bottles are sorted and placed in designated recycling bins at each site.
- Routing: Plastic waste is transported to the local processing facility, thereby avoiding the costly and polluting transatlantic voyage.
- Processing: The plastic is ground, melted, and extruded to produce standard-compliant, ready-to-use TPC conduits.
- Implementation: Recycled conduits are used on road and utility construction sites in Martinique, thereby completing the virtuous cycle of the circular economy.
«The goal is to prevent an increase in CO2 emissions into the atmosphere,» Marie-Anne Amar explains. «We produce an enormous amount of plastic waste, so we needed to address this issue locally.»
Paris, November 2024: National Recognition
On November 25, 2024, Hartock Nahun and his team flew to Paris. Their destination: the Cometh Post, A national event that recognizes innovative projects in the construction sector. EcoGaine is a finalist in the «Resources and CSR» (Corporate Social Responsibility) category.
If the project does not win an award in its original category, the jury—impressed by the relevance and maturity of the approach—decides to create a special category to honor it. EcoGaine receives the Premium Award for Innovation—an honor that validates the research conducted by these apprentices from Martinique and propels their project into the national spotlight.
«This is an award for a forward-looking project,» Hartock Nahun explains proudly. «They created a category just for us to recognize our research work.»
The Construction Industry: An Unexpected Player in the Green Transition
EcoGaine is challenging conventional wisdom. The building and public works sector, often criticized for its environmental impact—resource consumption, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions—can also serve as a catalyst for the ecological transition. That is the message these young apprentices are conveying.
«The construction industry isn’t just about laborers and masons,» insists Hartock Nahun. «It also contributes to innovation and development in Martinique through projects like this. » A modern vision of a rapidly changing sector, where technical skills are complemented by environmental awareness.
The project also illustrates the ability of vocational training programs to foster innovation. Far from the sometimes-undervalued image of apprenticeships, the BTS in Construction Economic Management at the CFA BTP in Ducos trains professionals capable of analyzing the sector’s broader issues and proposing concrete solutions to contemporary challenges.
What's next? A Call to Economic Stakeholders
EcoGaine has moved beyond the ideation and recognition stages. Now comes the hardest part: turning the concept into an industrial reality. To do so, the project needs support.
The project’s organizers are reaching out to Martinican business leaders. At the CFA BTP’s Afterwork event in January 2025, Hartock Nahun addressed the business leaders and institutional representatives in attendance directly: «We hope to benefit from your network and ask you to help us here at the CFA generate more innovation.»
The project requires investment to purchase processing equipment, establish partnerships with existing collection companies, and conduct compliance testing on the produced casings. An economic feasibility study will also need to be conducted to validate the model and convince public and private clients to include these recycled products in their specifications.
A Seed of Hope for Tomorrow
At a time when Martinique is seeking paths to economic development that are compatible with environmental imperatives, EcoGaine is charting a promising course. The project demonstrates that it is possible to transform a challenge—plastic pollution resulting from decades of chlordecone contamination—into an economic and environmental opportunity.
It also proves that innovation can emerge anywhere—including at a vocational training center—driven by young people who refuse to separate their professional futures from global challenges. EcoGaine may mark the beginning of a circular economy sector in Martinique’s construction industry. In any case, it is living proof that building the future can go hand in hand with preserving the planet.
The very name of the project—EcoGaine, a portmanteau of ’ecology« and »generation«—reflects this ambition: to foster a new generation of builders who are aware of their role in preserving the environment and capable of turning today’s challenges into tomorrow’s solutions.
THE PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Name: EcoGaine
Organizers: Hartock Nahun, Marie-Anne Amar, and their team
Education: BTS in Construction Economics and Management – CFA BTP in Ducos
Concept: Recycling plastic bottles into TPC sleeves for road and utility construction projects
Award: Premium Prize for Innovation – Cometh Post, Paris, November 2024
Contact: CFA BTP de Ducos – Vaudrancourt Neighborhood, Martinique
