THE smell of wet cardboard boxes, loads of waste paper and bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) might not be alluring but there are some seeing beyond the bad odours.
These are people who have ventured, big time, into recycling.
A study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Studies has revealed that the bulk of national waste is bio-degradable.
Of the total waste, 25 percent is paper, 18 percent plastic, seven percent metal, six percent textile and four percent medical waste.
But most impressive is a PET recycling project which has created opportunities for waste collectors, at the same time doing away with the misconception that PET bottles cannot be recycled.
Ongoing is an initiative by PETRECOZIM, which comprises Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Coca-Cola Central Africa (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd, Mega Pack (Pvt) Ltd, Martindale Trading (Pvt) Ltd T/A Lyons Maid, Dairibord Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, Tanganda Tea Company Ltd and Mutare Bottling Company (Pvt) Ltd, to recycle PET bottles.
These eight companies came together in 2011 to ‘save’ the environment from the PET menace.
Together they created a 500kg/h PET bottle recycling plant.
The plant has already diverted significant tonnage of post-consumer PET bottles from the streets and landfills by chipping the bottles and shipping them to China and India.
These countries are paying US$500 per tonne for clear PET bottles, US$400 for green PET bottles and US$350 for brown PET bottles.
The plant has a capacity to process over 200 tonnes per month but electricity and water supply challenges have hampered operations.
PETRECOZIM has potential to save a massive 1 260 cubic metres of landfill space every month.
Also, Waverley Plastics has seen a lot of High-density polyethylene (HDPE) material off the streets and recycled to make a wide range of products that include agricultural pipes, buckets as well as five-litre and 20-litre containers.
The company has capacity to recycle around 4 380t a year.
Pundits have hailed the recycling effort, citing it as crucial to efforts ensuring that the nation does not suffer from the adverse effects of pollution.
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat or humans.
Plastic is a material made to last forever, yet 33 percent of all plastic — water bottles, bags and straws — are used just once and thrown away.
Plastic cannot bio-degrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces.
According to health experts, toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us and exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity and endocrine disruption, among other ailments.
Cotmatech Waste Collections is another player that has made significant inroads in the recycling business, opening up centres across the country.
Managing director Abednigo Masunzambwa of the waste collection company said the business has been lucrative.
Speaking to The Patriot, Masunzambwa said his company has not looked back since starting operations.
“We collect our waste paper from various places, among them supermarkets, printing companies and Pomona dumpsite,” Masunzambwa said.
“These places have many off-cuts from the material that they use. Once collected, the waste paper is separated for the different value and markets because some of the waste paper is used to make tissue paper and to make egg crates,” he added.
The company exports some of its products to SA, earning the country the much needed foreign currency.
While, Cotmatech Waste Collections does not deal with plastic, when it comes across it it passes it on.
“In our collection of waste paper, quality is vital, so separation of waste at source is critical.
“It is necessary to sort paper at source because if the paper collected is soiled or dirty, we can no longer use it. We collect 30t of paper a day and the four types of paper are used to make various products, among them tissue paper which is produced in Kadoma,” said Masunzambwa.
Cotmatech Waste Collections started with a small machine which is now being used in Gweru before another was acquired on credit from SA.
“There is a lot of competition in everything and it is healthy because it keeps you on your toes and running around. This is the reason, once stable, the company will look at expanding into other waste products such as PET, plastic and glass,” Masunzambwa said.