Integrated Plastics Recovery and Recycling Project

Converting plastic waste into raw materials for plastic poles
Water, Sanitation & Health (WASH)
Kenya

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. 

Eco-Inclusive Impacts
This initiative creates new income generation opportunities and contributes to environmental protection by producing recycled poles.
  • Creating employment and ensuring community participation for marginalised youth and women in urban Kenya. 

 

  • Providing an alternative to timber as a building material and thus help to conserve the forest thus, contributing to mitigating climate change.
  • Contributing to environmental protection by reusing non-biodegradable pollutants.
  • Benefitting a large number of poor garbage collectors by improving their livelihoods; over 200,000 ‘green’ jobs will be created in the first year.

 

Partners

A project carried out by a large and a small business in partnership with a national NGO, aiming to offer the most viable option to recycling of dirty polythenes into plastic poles. It works to improve and strengthen livelihood assets for poor and marginalised youth and women.

Destiny Africa, a national NGO, has established itself as a key player in environmental issues, especially in solid waste management (SWM).

Green Africa, a newly registered company affiliated toDestiny Africa, has adopted this social business model after several years of involvement in SWM and experience of the many challenges and high failure rate of community-based mobilisation for recycling.

Eco-plast, established to recover and recycle plastics from established plastics manufacturers, deals with clean polythenes and offers technical support to the partnership.