With govt support, recycling industry can grow

Environment
After seven years of running a plastic recycling company, Reuben Kambasha decided to cease operations after thinking long and hard and coming to the conclusion it was just not worth the trouble.

After seven years of running a plastic recycling company, Reuben Kambasha decided to cease operations after thinking long and hard and coming to the conclusion it was just not worth the trouble.

Environment with Chipo Masara

Processed PET packed for export (left) and baled PET ready for production. Pictures: PetrecoZim
Processed PET packed for export (left) and baled PET ready for production. Pictures: PetrecoZim

“When I started the business I had the best intentions and I hoped I would educate people and make a change, but it turned out to be the most stressful venture I have ever been involved in.

“It was a labour-intensive business. What made it worse was dealing with dishonest people. Can you imagine someone coming to sell us bags filled with bricks pretending it was all plastic in there? No, it is a business venture I will never ever embark in again,” said Kambasha.

However, he was quick to point out that he still received a lot of calls from people seeking to do business with him, in what he said was a clear sign that “there is still big business in plastic recycling”.

Kambasha is not the only one that has since given up on the idea of being a force to reckon with in the country’s infant recycling industry. A number of recycling companies — for instance Trash Can Go and Eden — that were established following encouragement from the Environmental Management Agency for more players to join what was portrayed as a growing recycling industry, have since folded, citing difficult operating conditions.

There are, however, players in the recycling industry that have for years been holding down the fort, despite the challenges.

The National Waste Collections operating from Graniteside in Harare — a paper recovery concern owned by ART Corporation — is one such company that defied the odds and more than 20 years since its establishment, still remains standing. Operating under the motto “Don’t trash it, cash it”, the company was established to ensure that local paper mills get their waste paper requirements locally and is busy at work sourcing and collecting waste paper from different sectors that include municipal dumpsites, vendors, printing companies, manufacturing companies, government departments, banks and residential areas. The waste paper that the company collects includes newsprint, khakhi boxes (kraft), old stationery, archive records, and computer paper, among others. While making a profit from the business, the company has been a major player in the protection of the environment and without it, the country would have been much dirtier than it is. With the country currently struggling to manage its waste, the cities resemble dumping grounds.

The company’s commercial manager, Albert Muchadyanga, however, believes there is much that the government should do to incentivise companies like National Waste Collections that are doing “a great service to the nation”, with reducing their taxes being a good start.

PetrecoZim (Pvt) Limited is another thriving recycling company established in 2011 and according to its website, it is an initiative that was started by major companies within the beverage and allied industries in Zimbabwe that include Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, MegaPak Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, Dairibord Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd, Mutare Bottling Company (Pvt) Ltd, Tanganda Tea Company Ltd, Coca-Cola Central Africa (Pvt) Ltd and Martindale Trading (pvt) Ltd t/a Lyons Maid “to address environmental pollution related to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles”— probably the most visible plastic bottles on the market at the moment. The companies that make up PetrecoZim use PET packaging in their operations in one way or another as converters, bottlers or brand owners and therefore “felt a compelling need to participate to fulfill their extended producer responsibility obligations”.

Chief operating officer at PetrecoZim, Tawanda Masuka, however, bemoaned the “general lack of awareness and appreciation of green and sustainability issues”, as well as “inadequate infrastructure at local authority and national level to support recycling and waste management industry in general”. He appealed to the government to support the recycling sector through provision of basic infrastructure that supports recycling, such as waste transfer stations.

With Zimbabwe being a high consuming country — as evidenced by the high levels of waste in the country — there is great potential for the recycling industry. Recycling companies that have weathered the storms and continue to operate even under the most difficult of conditions deserve recognition and support from institutions, individuals and government.