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               Uganda, Colombia Find Alternative to Plastic Waste

   by Zlatica Hoke

   People around the world use disposable plastic containers for water,
   food and other content because of their practicality and light weight.
   But if not discarded properly, these plastics can litter populated
   areas, pollute water systems and create environmental damage. Plastic
   waste is a real problem in many poor countries. An African and a South
   American country have turned the menace into an advantage.

   The water drainage system in Uganda's capital, Kampala, is providing a
   livelihood for hundreds of people who collect carelessly thrown away
   trash.

   David Kibande manages about 10 workers who collect up to 10 tons of
   plastic waste a week, and sell it for the equivalent of about seven
   U.S. cents per kilogram. Kibande said the people he supervises would
   otherwise be jobless. Now, they make a living while helping to clean up
   the city.

   More than half of the trash in Uganda's capital is left uncollected by
   understaffed and underfunded municipal services. Much of it ends up in
   drainage channels, natural water courses, streets and undeveloped
   plots. Environment authorities say that about 600 tons of plastic are
   discarded in Kampala every day.

   Private companies, such as the Plastic Recycling Institute (PRI), run
   by South African beverage company SABMiller, have stepped in to help
   reduce the waste by employing people to collect plastic waste for
   recycling. The Kampala plant recycles 650 kilograms of plastic per hour
   and more than 3 million kilograms annually, which means that much less
   ends up in Uganda's environment.

   "I would say it's working. If... there were no recycling plants that
   means all the plastics we are collecting right now would be in the
   rivers and streets," said Jean-Baptiste Bitamazire, a PRI plant
   manager.

   The plastics are sorted, washed and processed for the manufacturing of
   other plastic products, including floor tiles and roof slates.

   A continent away, a private initiative called "Organizmo" is teaching
   students how to mix plastic bottles with sand, clay and straw to build
   sustainable homes in central Colombia.

   "If we can understand how we discard and consume and incorporate that
   into the cycles that surround us, that can lead to certain practices of
   recycling, reuse, of knowledge of the land," said Ana Maria Gutierrez,
   director and founder of Organizmo.

   Students from Colombia and other countries learn how to use waste and
   natural material to build "green" farm houses, which include rain water
   treatment systems and composting toilets.

   Lucia Cano, an architect from Spain, said she came to learn how to
   include care of the environment in her profession.

   "Forty percent of carbon emissions come from construction, of
   construction all over the world. So if we architects want to build, we
   must consider potential harm to our generations, and that we could
   destroy Mother Nature," said Cano.

   Environmentalists often point out that conserving Nature and its
   resources need not be expensive.  Mostly, it just takes initiative and
   persistence to develop good habits.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-colombia-find-alternative-to-p
   lastic-waste/2515598.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-colombia-find-alternative-to-plastic-waste/2515598.html