SENEGAL – Proplast Industrie, a Senegalese company specializing in plastic waste recycling, has launched a new initiative known as Récuplast , to fight the proliferation of plastic waste in West African nation.
Proplast intends to use the Récuplast initiative to create a circular economy around plastic in Senegal and has plans to set up a network for the collection and sale of plastic waste in the country.
According to a report by AFrik21 the project will help protect the environment by reducing the accumulation of plastic waste in Senegalese streets.
Senegal is regarded as one of the world’s biggest contributors to ocean plastic despite having a population of just 15 million.
A study reported by the journal Science, put it 21st out of all nations for quantity of waste being dumped in the sea – with 254,770 tonnes, only just behind the United States, a vastly bigger economy with many times more people and coastline.
In 2015 Senegal passed a law that banned the most common thin polythene bags, but was never applied.
Grocers still wrap individual items, even blobs of cheese, butter and coffee in copious plastic.
This plastic later ends up in the streets of Senegal or at sea due to lack of an efficient system to manage municipal solid waste in the country.
The Récuplast initiative will thus be a game changer in the management of municipal solid waste in Senegal.
It will create a system of collecting plastic waste thus preventing it from accumulating in the streets or finding its way to the ocean.
Diagne Macoumba, the coordinator of “Récuplast” explained that the initiative will also contribute towards creating employment opportunities for Senegal’s unemployed population.
Proplast will engage number of youth in the process of plastic waste collection, creating employment and contributing towards poverty reduction.
Proplast Industrie plans to purchase more than 100 tons of plastic waste each month through its twenty “Récuplast” kiosks, installed in the districts of Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
The company has also installed Special bins in hotels, restaurants and supermarkets to recover plastic water bottles.
The company further notes that Senegalese citizens also have an option of requesting home collection if they meet the minimum threshold of 25 kg of plastic waste.
Proplast Industrie says that it is going buy each kilo of plastic waste delivered to its Récuplast Points or collected from home for 75 CFA francs (about US$0.13).
The plastic waste collected will then be transformed into granules and used to make products such as basins, chairs, baskets, among other products.
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