The East African Standard (Nairobi)
28 April 2008

By Joseph Murimi
Nairobi
A new strategy that will allow you to sell your plastic waste, generate income for the youth and improve the environment has been unveiled.

Players in the plastic industry have come up with a concept that will see plastic waste collected and recycled before getting to the dumpsites. The concept involves organising youths in groups and empowering them to collect plastic waste from homes and selling them to big industries for recycling.The youth will be given special machines on loan, which they will use to shred plastic bags to make it easier for handling and transportation.

Industry spokesperson, Mr Evan Githinji, says the idea was to arrest the plastic bags and other plastic waste at the household level before it reaches the environment.

Githinji says after consumers use plastic bags they throw them into the litterbin together with other waste making them dirty.

Clean plastic

“What we need is clean plastic. We are asking Kenyans to separate plastic bags from the rest of the garbage and sell to us. Dirty plastic cannot be recycled,” Githinji says.

He says plastic waste is normally clean when leaving the house, but gets dirty by the time it reaches dumpsites.

“There is huge demand for plastic waste and Kenyans will realise they cannot satisfy the demand,” said Githinji.

He said their concept would work like that of scrap metal, which is easily recycled. It is possible, he says, to make plastic waste as precious as scrap metal.

It is estimated that each year 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, translating to a rate of over one million per minute. Billions of such plastic bags end up as litter each year while single use bags made of high-density polyethylene remain major culprits that accumulate and persist on earth for up to a 1,000 years.

Kenya consumes over 24 million plastic bags monthly, according to Mr Mahesh Dodhia, the Chief Executive Officer, Hi-Plast Group of Companies.

Plastic waste are major sources of many environmental problems. They block gutters and drains, creating serious storm water problems. Livestock farmers know only too well that consumption of plastic by their animals could lead to death.

Plastic bags are non-biodegradable and their presence in agricultural fields decreases soil productivity. Improper disposal of plastic bags have been linked to spread of malaria because they provide breeding habitats for mosquitoes and pathogens. When burned plastic bags release toxic gases such as furan and dioxin, and leave unhealthy residues that include lead and cadmium.

So why is plastic so popular?

Dodhia says the considerable growth in use of plastics is due to its beneficial properties that include extreme versatility. They are lighter than competing materials, their transportation is easier and cheaper, they are extremely durable, they have good resistance to chemicals, water and impact, they are safe and hygienic for food packaging, possess excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties and are relatively cheaper to produce.

Popularity

This has made them popular and the reverse is that more than half of the plastics end up as solid waste, contributing to the biggest challenge to municipal solid waste management all over the world. In view of the magnitude of the plastic waste and the resultant environmental ramifications, the Government has identified plastic bags waste as a major solid waste problem in urban centres.

It has in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme prepared a policy proposal in order to address the associated problems.

Traditionally, the emphasis by the municipal councils has been on collection and disposal of waste rather than on an integrated solid waste management strategy with room for creating income through recycling and recovery.

The recycling of plastic waste is one approach that has positive ramification in creating informal employment among the youth and offering an environmentally sound solution to plastic waste management.

This community-level plastic waste management schemes already exist in countries such as China and India.

“In essence recycling of plastic plays a valuable resource conservation role such as minimising of further exploitation of scarce natural resources, thus containing the spreading of ecological footprints,” said Dodhia.

He says Hi-Plast came up with the idea of recycling plastic waste as a source of economic opportunities with additional end returns of an improved environment. The company, he says, is working with other stakeholders such as NGOs and Community Based Organisations on plastic recycling projects.

The media is involved as a strategic partner and will focus on public awareness and education.The project begins with 50 housing estates on trial basis in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa as the initial target region.

The project is targeting at least 200,000 youth countrywide on the issues of plastic waste recycling within a period of three years that will involve about 30 plastic manufacturers and suppliers.

To the manufacturers, the project will enhance self-regulation in form of corporate social responsibility and environmental responsibility.

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Copyright © 2008 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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