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Trashes for cash - Innovative way of dealing with plastic waste

Rescuing a million to produce millions

Although the raw material for Trashy Bags’ products is everywhere, getting them is challenging as most people shy from collecting or gathering plastic sachet bags. Many people are used to littering, a challenge the Trashy Bags Project is fighting to reduce.

The Project Director said his outfit currently pays GH¢0.70 for every kilo (120 pieces) of used plastic sachet water bags, an amount he said has motivated many people to pick and gather plastic waste for the enterprise.

“When we started, it was difficult getting the materials but that is no longer the case. We now get more than enough because, gradually, people are beginning to realise the economic value of used plastic sachet bags. So, instead of littering after use, they gather them. Some even bring them in trucks and that shows how people are adapting to our message,” Mr Aboluah said.

The project recently produced 1,000 bags, each made from 35 pieces of used 500 millilitre sachet water bags, for participants at the just ended West Africa Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE) Exhibition and Conference in Accra.

“That means about 35,000 plastic sachet water bags were collected from the system. Now, you can imagine what that means to the environment,” he said.

He added that his outfit was now aiming at producing one million of the purse-like shopping bags for retail in markets throughout the country.

“And if we succeed, then we would have collected over seven million plastic sachet water bags from the system and that is remarkable,” he noted.  Each of those bags is produced from 70 pieces of the sachet.

 New product

In addition to rescuing plastic waste and turning them into lovely items, the Trashy Bags Project found a way of making good use of publicity fliers and billboard marts.

“If you go round the country, you realise that everybody is advertising. But when the advert is no longer in use, then the story ends there because the advertising agency as well as the company do not need the flier or mart and that creates another environmental problem,” said Mr Aboluah.

“So we thought of it and realised that we could make something nice from these stuffs,” he added.

He said the enterprise, as a result,  has struck a deal with big corporate institutions and advertising agencies to supply them with used fliers to turn them into bags.

These bags, pretty and stylish in look, are proudly displayed at the group’s head office at Dzorwulo in Accra.

 But unlike the plastic sachets, Mr Aboluah said Trashy Bags is not paying for  the fliers and billboard marts because there is the  tendency  that people will go ripping off people’s banners just to make money. 

 The challenge

 “For us, the focus is not about making a fortune but on making an impact on the environment,” Mr Aboluah said, disagreeing that his outfit was profiting from plastic trashes.

“Here, we do everything manually and that increases the cost yet we still keep our prices down,” he said, adding that “we are more of a social enterprise than a profit making institution.”

“As a result, we price our products low, knowing that the more people buy them, the more litter they take off the environment,” he said.

To the business community and general public, Mr Abluah said “it is okay to do business but when we do, please let’s remember the environment. After all, what kind of businesses will we be doing if we allow it to hurt the environment, the very place in which our products come from,” he asked.GB




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