6 Waste Revolutionaries To Watch in East Africa

Innovation is at the core of everything we do and have ever done at Flipflopi.

From creating and sailing the first (and only) boat made from recycled plastic to promoting circular economies across East Africa innovation is one of the three pillars of our organisation.

And something we are very passionate about is supporting and working with organisations who are finding exciting and sustainable ways to reduce, reuse and recycle the many tonnes of plastic that are used and produced daily.

So we feel it’s only right to highlight some of our favourite waste revolutionaries from across East Africa.

Plastiki Rafiki (Kenya)

This social enterprise based out of the International School of Kenya (ISK) came about as a group of students dreamt of finding a way of setting up local and affordable small-scale recycling plants across Kenya.

They wanted to give the power to the communities so they could be able to repurpose and reuse their plastic waste while also creating an income.

After they found the open-source designs from Precious Plastic they began building their own machines and have since been creating custom machines to provide to small communities. Allowing them to turn waste into something wonderful!

Their 4 pillars are:

*One of the many machines Plastiki Rafiki have created and distributed*

Environment: helping to clean and protect our local environment by promoting and sponsoring rubbish collection drives in targeted natural spaces.
Product Design: creating unique products out of waste plastic, using design thinking methodologies.
Building Machines: manufacturing a range of plastic recycling machines adapting open-source designs.
Networking: working together with like-minded organisations trying to work towards a cleaner, greener Kenya.

They continue to innovate and improve their recycling processes to make them cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly. Recent innovations include the design of a pedal-powered plastic shredder and a biogas powered compression oven to enable off-grid plastic recycling.

Learn more about Plastiki Rafiki here.

Kwale Plastic Plus Collectors [KPPC] (Kenya)

Based in Diani, Kenya, KPPC have been busy collecting, cleaning and sorting waste from all over the town for over 3 years now. Their mission is to clean up land, rivers, beaches and oceans by upgrading and improving the current waste management system.

KPPC are one of the first on the coast of Kenya to introduce the idea of a ‘closed-loop’ post-consumer waste management practice.

They have partnered with the Kwale County government to set up over 30 waste collection points across Diani to inspire better waste disposal habits as well as improved disposal activities and systems across their community.

Residents are asked to bring their segregated waste to collection points across the town. From there it is collected weekly and taken to the main hub where it is further sorted and cleaned to be ready for upcycling.

*One of the KPPC bins based along the Diani Beach road*

KPPC has been stockpiling their waste waiting for infrastructure improvements to the site while running a recycling educational centre in collaboration with the Nomads Marine Education Centre.

But very soon, KPPC which has now merged with the Flipflopi, will be able to shred and extrude plastic at a much higher level using commercial machinery into various products, which can then be sold. Less desirable/contaminated plastics can also be shredded and used in road construction.

Not only is KPPC collecting but they’re also leading the way in educating and informing the community on the importance of proper waste management.

They have worked with different partners to do this such as the Technical University of Mombasa-Kwale, to conduct educational outreach within communities and EKWAL to put together a training programme to spread the message of responsible waste far and wide.

Learn more about KPPC here.

Takataka Foundation [TTF] (Kenya)

Based in our spiritual home of Lamu Island, Kenya and co-founded by our very own master boat builder and captain Ali Skanda this organisation is busy introducing a waste management system on the island itself.

TTF will be working with the county to collect waste across the island in waste segregation bins which will then be taken back to their site for further sorting, cleaning and eventually shredding and extruding too! This is based on the model proven by KPPC.

While the fine print is being worked out between TTF and Lamu County the team are busy arranging regular cleanups, collecting recyclable waste from businesses and collecting 1000s of ecobricks made by the local community.

*Just some of the 1000s of ecobricks collected by the team*

Since April 2020 TTF has been teaching and inspiring the local community to create ecobricks.
These bricks are used plastic bottles stuffed full of fly-away single use plastics that can then be used as a building material.
To date, the team has collected over 2500 kilos of ecobricks made by members of the local community. They will be using these bricks as part of their machinery shelter but will continue to stockpile to donate to community building projects across the island.

They have used this time to sensitise and bring awareness of the problems of poor waste management to the local community.

In the last 6 months they have seen the community go from not seeing or caring about the waste that is produced to actively helping during cleanups and promoting their message far and wide.

Find out more about TTF here.

Nipe Fagio (Tanzania)

This civil society organisation founded in 2013 aims to empower individuals, the civil society, the private sector and government to build lasting change towards turning Tanzania into a clean and sustainable country.

*A recycling depot opened in 2014 in collaboration with Nipe Fagio and Nabaki Afrika*

They’re working on a cross-sector approach to sustainable development in the sector of waste management and pollution education. By working with local communities and local governments to identify needs and opportunities for sustainable development they’re putting people at the forefront of creating lasting change in the face of the common waste problem.

Founded on the belief that by creating a cleaner and safer environment in Tanzania they can improve hygiene and sanitation practices, prevent crime, create business opportunities, raise property values, promote tourism and improve community standards with opportunities to enjoy clean, attractive and safer recreational activities.

Since 2013 they’ve been busy arranging regular cleanups, raising awareness through education and pressuring local governments to act on plastic pollution.

Find out more about them here.

*Bottle top art created by the community*

Made By Africraft (Tanzania)

Based on the idyllic Coco Beach in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania this collective of local artisans have been busy collecting waste washing up on Coco Beach and using it to create beautiful art.

They aim to support and promote the development of sustainable handicrafts in Tanzania through using innovative ideas to turn trash into unique crafts.

They’re engaging the local community by arranging regular cleanups on the beach and across town while supporting local artisans and introducing youth and the unemployed to the idea of using crafts to create a livelihood.

They’re creating truly beautiful one of a kind items such as tea lights, lampshades and stand alone art.

Find out more here.

Reform Africa (Uganda)

Founded in 2018 by 3 friends studying at the Social Innovation Academy in Mpigi, Uganda who shared a passion for art and environmental protection.

They quickly decided to do something creative with the most common piece of rubbish littering the streets of Uganda - the plastic bag.

Using their unique techniques, they rescue plastic bags from the streets and dumpsites, clean them and then create beautiful one of a kind waterproof bags. Each of their bags contains 15 plastic bags and over 50 kilos of plastic is collected each month.

Find out more about Reform Africa here.

So there you have it, just a few waste revolutionaries to watch in East Africa. But we know there are so many more.

Have we missed anyone out? Let us know as we’re always looking for organisations to inspire us and our followers!