Desks Made from Plastic Waste for Remote Schools
The Artmal enterprise collects the used plastic bottles from the Mudi River and surrounding communities.
BLANTYRE, Malawi -- The Artmal social enterprise has intensified its waste management project by producing desks from used plastic bottles collected from the Mudi River, writes Bridget Banda.
"We would like to be producing 1,000 of the plastic products, which requires 25kg of plastics to produce a single desk, hence a lot of plastics needs to be removed from various wastes to meet this target," said Manota Mphande, Artmal project manager.
Mphande said the desks being produced will be distributed to several remote primary schools in Blantyre City.
He stressed the need for raising more awareness among learners in schools about the importance of recycling plastics and avoiding non-recycled plastics to protect the environment.
With support from waste advisers, Artmal has managed to build machines that help in grading the wastes and separating colors.
Patrick Nyirenda, a senior officer with the Malawi Environment Protection Authority, commended the project for not only protecting the environment but also creating job opportunities among waste collectors.
"Many people just burn plastics nowadays, and this pollutes the air that in turn risks people's health, so their project has to be supported at all costs," Nyirenda said. He thanked Artmal for shouldering the government's effort in its environmental protection strategy.
Group Village Headman Misesa of Traditional Authority Kapeni in Blantyre expressed the need to locate more dumping sites for used plastic bottles so that more desks can be produced while preserving the environment.
"As one of the communities that were affected by Cyclone Freddy, I have witnessed the effects of environmental degradation, so the initiative is so good and has to be given full support," Misesa said.
The Artmal enterprise collects the used plastic bottles from the Mudi River and surrounding communities.
The bottles are then separated by color and graded at their facility before being processed into desks.
Mphande said support from technical advisers on waste management has been critical in setting up the small-scale recycling operation.
The desks will be donated to schools that often lack proper furniture.