A rush for collecting solid waste is now the order of the day at landfills like Pomona as hordes of people will be sorting recyclable materials like plastic at the dumpsites.
“At first we operated individually but we are now considering operating as groups in cooperatives or syndicates. We are considering registration as community based organisations (CBOs) and our workplaces include fast food and retail outlets but the most common are landfills where we collect large volumes of recyclable waste,” said Jonas Mashamba, exuding an aura of confidence.
Mashamba said the waste recyclers are dealing directly with recyclers like Waverly Plastics and Innovations Development found in Harare’s Willowvale industrial area. He said recyclers prefers dealing with groups since this is considered by the United Nations Development Organisation as the most effective and productive recycling system.
Chief executive officer of Innovations Development Nedson Shumba said his organization works with existing vendors in other recyclables to grow the recycling of plastic.
“The company will address three key issues to maximize volumes from vendors. These include ensuring that landfills are adequately manned through the recruitment of more vendors, setting purchase prices that fare favourably against other recyclables and providing performance incentives like target bonuses,” Shumba said.
Shumba said there are several plastic waste collection strategies which includes the use of colour-coded wheeler bins and bin liners at the waste source. He said the strategy helps in setting the tone of separating waste at source and works well with hotels, industries, local businesses and households.
The other strategy is that of installing colour-coded cages at main shopping centres, schools and at harbours where there are major activities that generate a lot of waste at certain times during the course of the year, such as the Tiger Tournament at Charara in Kariba.
Shumba said most local authorities were now embarking on door to door collection of waste from designated points in the central business districts of cities and in homes. He said the strategy is known as curbside collection.
“Curbside collection usually yields high recycling rates in countries with a separation and recycling culture. Locally however, this method has collapsed in most local authorities due to financial problems. As such, recovery of recyclable material from residential areas is a huge challenge which led to surfacing of illegal dumpsites in most residential areas.”
Environmental Management Agency publicity and education manager Steady Kangata said used tyres are a problem to dispose of and usually end up in landfill sites. He added that used oil is an environmental nightmare whose disposal must be treated with utmost care.
Innovations Development said it has moved to recycling of polymer waste, used oil and used tyres to produce alternative fuels.
“We have the right to use a patent system from the Ukraine (Patent Model No. 2712) to convert waste plastic, used oil and discarded tyres to alternative fuels,” said Andrew Muchechetere, public relations officer of Innovations Development.
He said through a system of pyrolysis, used oil, plastic and tyres can be converted to alternative fuels.
“The raw materials are placed into the machine and heated to gasify them. The resultant gas is condensed and the basic product is diesel. By-products are a small amount of petrol, gas and carbon black,” Muchechetere said.
He said the programs create employment and thereby cleaning the environment of polymer wastes.
Director of Waverly Plastics Aron Vico said his company requires large volumes of plastic waste, particularly high density polyethylene (HDPE) at approximately 4, 380 tonnes of plastic waste per annum.
“We purchase much of our plastic from landfill (dump) sites, thereby providing a source of income for hundreds of “waste pickers” in the local community. Our business model is quite specifically designed to create an environment investing in human capital, widespread training and job creation, while understanding the importance of eco-conscious, yet economically viable sustainability,” Vico said.
He added that Waverly’s production process is continually evaluated and refined in order to minimize the inevitable carbon footprint associated with any manufacturing process.
By Byron Mutingwende
