According to recent World Wide Fund for Nature research, low-income nations are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution, which is a serious environmental problem.
Almost 430 million tons are created each year, with two thirds going toward producing goods that are quickly discarded and most of which wind up polluting the ocean.
But a small start-up in Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya, is making use of this plastic waste.
Twende Green Ecocycle purchases plastic debris, gathers it from beaches, and turns it into environmentally friendly school furniture.
Every day, more than 80 tonnes of garbage are released in Mombasa alone. Of this, just five percent is recycled, while twenty percent is made of plastic. So we have this 95 per cent which ends up in the beautiful ocean and ends up polluting the marine life,” says co-founder Churchill Muriuki.
Muriuki, Zainab Mahmoud, Faraj Ramadhan, and Lawrence Kosgei founded the social company in January 2023 with the goal of addressing the issue of plastic garbage along Mombasa’s coastline and advancing sustainable education.
Following collecting, the plastic is cleaned, shred, and combined with leftover tetra pack material before being compacted at a high temperature to create boards.
They are then utilized to create reasonably priced school seats and desks that are resistant to chipping in contrast to conventional hardwood furniture.
Kosgei claims that his own primary school experience—sitting at a broken desk—inspired him.
It hurts a lot to see that the desk you used to sit on when you were younger is cracked and chipped.
According to him, recycling plastic garbage into school furniture creates something practical that will benefit the neighborhood.
He claims, “We are able to promote sustainable education throughout Mombasa County in addition to environmental conservation.”
The kids at Mombasa’s Mvita Primary School are delighted with their new eco-desks and chairs.
“It is small because the kids share three traditional wooden desks. However, each pupil is comfortable using these eco-desks, “says Ronald Katana, a teacher.
Marine plastics contribute to climate change and endanger marine life as well as coastal tourism.
Marine life consumes microplastics that are created as plastics break down in the ocean.
(Africanews)
