caroline njoroge

With a passion and desire to see a clean environment and having been brought up in a poor family where I got to encounter littered plastics while going to school, I resorted to starting a plastic collection activity at Mwea town Kirinyaga County and Embu County with an intention to expanding to all the counties in Kenya
The Goal is to be a for-profit social enterprise that aims at converting plastics into refuse/Garbage bags to be used by contractors and plastic flakes and Granules to be used in manufacturing of plastic chairs, basins and buckets with the growth in real estate, construction and manufacturing activities in the country and availability of ready materials, the firm will be sustainable and self-reliant on the long run.
Our Model is recognized by UN 2030 sustainable goal of ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (Goal 6) and promotion of sustained economic growth, full, productive employment and decent work for (Goal 8), the UN Millennium campaign under MDG7 which considers environmental, social and economic factors. New Nairobi social waste master plan by Unep and Jica.
Quantum plastics work with youth and women in slum areas of Kirinyaga County with an extension to extend the yards to all counties where waste is .The group we work with are people neglected by authorities on issues such as education, health and employment .These are areas that have low economic activity leading to cycle of poverty due to unemployment. The company aims at providing sustainable employment to these individuals so that they can afford social amenities that’s why it honours Goal 8 of UN vision 2030 .Currently we pay all groups that collect plastic per kilo and later sell it to processing companies .This is in line with the Earth summit’s thematic guidance which strongly favoured community-led participation in the approach to environmental management.

One of the greatest environmental problems that pose a grave challenge to the residents of all counties in this nation is waste disposal. Today, plastic waste disposal constitutes a major urban environmental paralysis; a clog in the wheel of progress in terms of urban environmental purity and sanitation (Slue, 2009).The life span of plastics is indefinite hence the sustainable rate of biodegradation is only what an ecosystem can deal with. In many places, these wastes are scattered in gutters, street corners, and road sides hence polluting water catchment areas such as dams and rivers.

The amount of plastic waste generated by individual has relationships with per capital consumption. With an increase in urbanization and industrazation; plastics litter will automatically increase with the current Kenyan growing population of 47.8 million by 2015, hence availability of littered plastics for example Supermarkets, fast-food and fresh produce outlets, retailers, and street vendors, for instance, provide their customers with plastic bags to carry away groceries. Most consumers prefer to use multiple bags, one slipped inside the other to make them sturdier. As such, more plastic bags are released to consumers and, eventually, into the solid waste stream. Based on the interviews, plastic bags are popular with consumers for many reasons that include easy availability, easy storage and transportation on account of their thinness and lightness.

Nairobi residents, especially those residing in the informal settlements receive little or no waste collection service, even with individual and localized performances, the community plays small waste management role (UNEP/GOK, 2005). Most residents, therefore, prefer to burn or just indiscriminately dump their waste, among other places, in rivers and on open spaces (Wamucii, 2002). As such, the social patterns of plastic bag waste observed during the 2001 research remain true.

Over 24 million plastic bags are consumed in Kenya monthly. More than half of the bags end up in the solid waste stream. As a result, plastic bag waste has attracted great political and public attention, especially because the waste has myriad unique environmental problems .

The Following are the Problems Caused by Disposed Plastic Bags:
1. Plastic bags provide several million habitats for mosquitoes to breed that increase the risk of malaria (Wangari Maathai) Kenya’s assistant environment minister and 2004 Nobel Peace laureate, quoted in AFP, February 23, 2005

2. Plastic wastes block gutters and drains, creating serious storm water problems. Bangladesh, for instance, imposed a ban on plastic bags in March 2002 following blockage of drains (EPHC, 2002).

3. Consumption of plastic bags by livestock can lead to
Death in cases where its littered on the compound and the livestock is grazing.

4. Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, as such,
their presence in agricultural Welds decreases soil productivity.

5. Improperly disposed plastic bags have been linked to spread of malaria because they provide breeding habitats for mosquitoes.

6. When burned, plastic bags release toxic gases such as furan and dioxin, and leave unhealthy residues that include lead and cadmium (Gordon, 1994).In view of the magnitude of plastic bag waste, the government of Kenya has identified plastic bag waste as a major Waste problem in Nairobi.

7. Plastics are petrochemicals and their recycling reduces use of fossil fuels. Recycling of plastics has the benefit of saving on energy by up to 30%. Recycling plastic will reduce the amount of solid waste going to landfill and the amount of carbon emissions.
Total survey of plastic bags collected available for collection in different areas

Accra Road Commercial 695 14.4
Machakos Commercial 1211 25.0
Eastleigh Low-income 1630 33.7
Dandora Low-income 1029 21.3
Parklands High-income 182 3.8
Muthaiga High-income 87 1.8
Total 4834 100

Currently we are seeking for an Angel Investor or grant funding that will enable the organization purchase land around Kiambu county Thika Municipality to set-up the industry and buy the machines. We aim to sustain the project with assistance of an Investor who will own part of the shares and later once the industry has