A consortium of three community organisations is partnering to recycle plastic waste in the informal Bangladesh settlement of Mombasa.

Pwani Youth Network (PYN) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with operations in Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kwale counties. It advocates for ‘Kenyan youth progress and prosper’ with a mission of ‘inspiring the dream of Kenyan youth through all positive change’.

PYN has partnered with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and Women Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy (WRAP) in the cleanup exercise.

Speaking during a community clean-up exercise and a public awareness campaign in Bangladesh, PYN Chief Executive Alferd Sigo said their aim is to engage and educate the community on plastic waste management to spur community action and affect consumer choices.

Sigo, the founder of PYN says the aim of the partnership is to accelerate the transformation of plastic waste otherwise discarded into the natural environment into a valuable commodity and promote a circular plastic economy.

The synergy of the environmental groups, he says, will not only improve the livelihoods of the workers in the plastic recycling sector but also have a net impact on the environment.

Sigo further said the plastic recycling value chain will help in addressing environmental pollution and, at the same time, create employment for the community.

He said his organisation has also inspired People Living with Disability (PLWDs) to ensure they are part of the environmental awareness campaign in the community and that they also take part in cleanup campaign action.

John Ooko, Project Coordinator, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), called on the County Government of Mombasa to strengthen waste management practices and ensure compliance with the solid waste management strategy, which will provide a lasting solution to addressing the garbage menace that is choking the coastal tourist resort city.

He further said the county by-laws on waste segregation from the source will ensure a clean, healthy, and green environment within the county and improve livelihoods for young women and men through collecting, sorting, and processing waste within the county.

Susan Achieng of Women Reducing Adolescence Pregnancy (WRAP), says her organisation deals with collecting discarded garbage, which the group later sells to Pwani Youth Network.

She says the garbage recycling project has not only provided employment for the youth living in the informal settlement but also provided an educational platform for awareness about a clean environment for a more sustainable and healthier planet.

Eric Omondi, a youth from Bangladesh slums in Jomvu Constituency, says the project has provided employment opportunities to many youth who were hooked on drugs and substance abuse due to idleness.

Evans Otieno, a PLWD youth, says the plastics project has benefited the youth, including PLWDs, and the entire community of Bangladesh slums.

He further said plastic use has come with severe environmental, social, economic, and health consequences.

During the cleanup exercise, Pwani Youth Network donated garbage skips to be distributed at strategic points as garbage collection points in the informal settlement.

According to a UN-Habitat Assessment Report of 2019 done in conjunction with the County Government of Mombasa, the town produces about 1,000 tonnes of solid waste every day, with only 60 per cent collected.

The remaining 40 per cent, the report says, finds its way on the streets and illegal dumpsites all the way into the ocean, with some even blocking storm water manholes.

Plastic waste, according to the report, comprises nine per cent and only half of it is processed for recycling.

Source: Kenya News Agency