Integrated Plastics Recovery and Recycling project

Original project description

The initiative, established in 2009, is unique as it recycles dirty plastic containers (polythenes) using a novel technique and converts them into plastic poles. No other plastic recycler is known to be able to recycle dirty polythenes (LDPE) that litter the environment without first undergoing a washing process. It is thus a process that minimises resource use.
Plastic waste, collected by community members, is used as the raw material for durable and sustainable plastic poles. The poles are then used as fences or as other construction materials within the building sector, which is the main market.
In doing that, the initiative creates employment and generates community participation for marginalised youth and women in urban Kenya. It also benefits a large number of poor garbage collectors by improving their livelihoods. Over 200,000 ‘green’ jobs will be created in the first year.
Furthermore, the poles made out of recycled dirty polythenes provide an alternative to timber as a building material and thus help to conserve forest which also contributes to mitigating climate change. Besides contributing to protecting the environment, the initiative also reuses non-biodegradable pollutants.

Current project updates

No update available.

Growth plans description

• Mobilise and organise the community to collect, sort and recover plastics through education and awareness-raising.
• Mobilise other stakeholders to support the initiative (including Government to create conducive policies, donors to fund the mobilisation and production, relevant industries able to help with technical expertise).
• Improve production capacity by upgrading machinery.
• Strengthen the sales and marketing portfolio.

Current Needs

• Financial assistance to purchase machinery to boost production and enhance plastics recycling.
• Support campaign to aid in sorting waste at the source and removing plastics from the environment.

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