MAKE MONEY WITH WASTE PLASTIC IN KENYA

*MAKING MONEY WITH WASTE PLASTIC*

As the country forges towards doing away with plastic pollution, Francis Muriithi is steps ahead in the plastic recycling business.

Starting off as a hawker in Karatina town Nyeri County 12 years ago, Mr Muriithi has turned collecting trash into a fortune.

“We came together as a team to clean up the town by collecting garbage for a little fee but did not live up the task as some members left,” said Mr Muriithi.

Once his teammates left, Mr Muriithi started collecting garbage with zeal including scrap metals. “I used to deliver scrap metals to dealers within town but I realized that there were lots of plastic bottles in the trash. I seized the opportunity and created my own path of success,” he said.

Mr Muriithi, an employer of four people, is currently the sole plastic collector in Karatina town.

He buys a kilogramme of the waste at Sh.10 and sells them in Nairobi.

“After the initial stockpile I thought if there was a market for scrap metal there must be one for plastics hence the decision to travel to Nairobi. It bore fruits and I have not looked back since then,” he said. 

He earns about Sh.5,000 from a tonne of the waste while a tonne of bones fetches Sh.12,000. The most lucrative waste however is scrap metals which earns him between Sh.20,000 and Sh.30,000 per tonne, with a lorry carrying 12 tonnes. All he needs to recycle the waste are fire, some chemicals, sand and a mould.

“I usually light a wood fire and melt the plastics in a large metal drum, add some sand and metal salts, then pour the boiling liquid into the mould. I then leave it to dry for about three days,” explained Mr Muriithi.

He said that he can make up to 500 ventilation blocks from the waste which he distributes to hardware shops.

Mr Mureithi has faced a myriad of challenges trying to market his products as many people do not believe in plastic ventilation blocks.

He said he had to convince potential buyers of the advantages of using materials made from plastic.

“They did not trust my blocks because they were competing against a commodity that has been used for eons, but they have now started trusting my invention because almost every hardware in Karatina is stocking the blocks,” he said.

The advantage of using plastic ventilation blocks is that they do not crack or flake like cement blocks.

He also makes poles from plastic and sells each at Sh.600.

“I intend to diversify my business to produce more items hence the need to invest in moulds,” he said.

*Making roofing tiles with plastic waste*

Have you been in contact with anything made from plastic today?

Chances are high that you have just answered yes.

From the phone you are using to read this article, computer, buckets, comb, toothbrush, water bottle e.t.c are all made from plastic.

There is so much plastic everywhere and the environment is struggling to deal with loads and loads of the non-biodegradable waste that is produced from our homes and offices daily.

So what if I told you that you can start converting this waste into affordable roofing tiles?

You only need some plastic and sand to produce high quality roofing material which you can then sell at a good price to those building new homes, schools etc.

Does this sound like something you would be honoured to do?

Read the next few paragraphs to find out more.

*How To Start The Business Of Making Roofing Tiles From Used Plastic*

*Step One: Identify The Need*

Affordable roofing has for many years remained a far-fetched dream for many people.

Iron sheets and clay tiles are super expensive yet their durability and safety is not always guaranteed.

On the other hand, there is too much plastic being released to the environment in form of waste.

For instance, Nairobi alone generates 560 metric tonnes of plastic waste every day.

And where does all this waste end up?

You guessed it, it ends up in Dandora, Nairobi River or drainage systems clogging up everything and endangering our very own health.

So there is a need to first get an affordable roofing solution and secondly a need to get rid of the mountains of trash that are choking our environment.

*Step Two: Collect Plastics and Sand*

*Collect The Plastic*

The process is very simple. First you need to collect a decent amount of high density polymer plastic.

Examples of high density polymer plastics are: used jerry cans, computer cases, old pipes, water buckets, mobile phone cases and so forth.

You can hire a few street boys or women to assist you with this. Normally they are paid Ksh.170 per Kilogram brought in.

*You Will Need Some Sand*

Sand is the second most important ingredient needed here. You can collect this from the river beds or quarries around you.

Just make sure you find the finest sand with no particles. The smoother and cleaner the sand, the better.

*Step Three: Ooops I Forgot About The Machines*

In order for you to do this business effectively, you will require two very important machines.

The first machine is the Plastic Shredder. Just as its name suggests a shredder is a machine that chops plastic into small pieces.

The second machine you will require is a Plastic Extruder. This is the machine that will mix and melt the plastic and combine it with the sand.

These two are nothing fancy really, in fact you can find them locally at Kariobangi Light Industries, Nyarweco Engineering, Makiga Engineering or Polystar.

Alternatively if you would like to import one from abroad then you can link up with companies like Archana in India or Yaoan Plastic Machinery in China.

*Step Four: Start Making Tiles*

Now that you have the machine and raw materials, the process of making tiles will be pretty straight-forward. You simply shred the plastic, then mix with the sand and pour inside the extruder.

The extruder will do its job and you will collect a molten mixture of sand and plastic on the other end.

This you will place in a molder (supplied alongside the machines) which will shape out the roofing tile and within 10 minutes your roofing tiles will be ready.

In addition to making tiles, you can as well make plastic poles for fencing or manhole covers.

These require the same process only that you will replace the sand with saw-dust and adjust the molding process accordingly.

Tip: Mix 70% plastic with 30% sand for best quality roofing tiles.

*Market*

Construction sites and government projects.

*Recommended Starting Budget*

Ksh.1,500,000 … a perfect idea for a chama.

*Estimated Returns Per Month*

Ksh.1,000,000

*Final Word*

This is such an interesting idea because you will be in a position to hire many people as the business grows.

For instance, you will create employment for that woman in the streets who will be collecting waste plastic for you. You will also create employment for labourers in your plant.

Further you will create employment for retailers and marketers who will deliver your product to the market.

Keep in mind that you will also be providing affordable roofing for the Kenyan builders and playing a part in improving our environment at the same time.

The ball is in your court.

Remember, even those big companies you see today were once small ideas that seemed too difficult to implement.

So psyche yourself up and go for it – all the best.

Also don`t forget to join our training on Raising Business Capital.

We have created a WhatsApp group called, *RAISING BUSINESS CAPITAL*

In this group we are going to train and teach you for 21 days, various ways of raising funds to start your business or grow your already existing business.

About six years after I have been studying every aspect of entrepreneurship, I discovered that the same tactics we men are using to woo ladies (and which ladies are using to attract men) are the same tactics that smart entrepreneurs are using to get all the capital they need to start or grow a business.

That is why in this business training, I will be relating getting capital with getting a girl you love.

Since love affairs between men and women are practical life`s situation all of us can relate with, you are going to enjoy this training. You will not only enjoy this training; it will change your financial life forever.

The training will start on Wednesday, 5th July 2023.

We have prepared a program or schedule on how our Training will be conducted.

Our training on how to Raise Business Capital will take 21 days (Monday to Friday, excluding weekends)

We will be educating/teaching you from 9.am to 2.pm by posting articles, images, PDF documents and videos. And from 2.pm to 7.pm the group will be open for discussions, questions and answers.

*NOTE*: The training won't affect your daily schedules. You can access all the information posted in the training group at your own free time.

Also our training will be on weekdays only, Monday to Friday, excluding weekends so that those who will be busy during the weekdays can catch up with our training over the weekend.

Below is a schedule of what will be learnt on each day of our training.

DAY 1: Introduction to raising Business Capital and evaluating if your Business idea is really a Good One

DAY 2: Preparing your mindset to deal with the challenges involved with raising capital

DAY 3: Crafting a great business plan

DAY 4: How to Write a Fundraising Proposal

DAY 5: Choosing your Path to Fund Raising (Debt Vs. Equity)

DAY 6: How to raise seed capital from family and friends

DAY 7: How to raise capital by liquidating assets

DAY 8: How to raise capital by Bootstrapping your business

DAY 9: How to raise capital through Supplier Credit & Customer Lenders

DAY 10: How to successfully raise funds from financial institutions (Banks)

DAY 11: How to raise funds from SACCOs / Chama

DAY 12: How to raise funds from Angel Investors

DAY 13: How to raise funds from Venture capitalists

DAY 14: How to raise funds through Crowdfunding & Peer-to-peer lending

DAY 15: How to raise funds through Hard money loans and Shylocks

DAY 16: How to Get Business Grants (Grants from NGOs and Government business grants)

DAY 17: How to Raise Funds through Competitions (prize money, in-kind awards)

DAY 18: How to Raise Funds through Mergers and Acquisitions

DAY 19: How to Finance your Business Expansion with Equipment Leasing and Outsourcing.

DAY 20: Taking your company public through IPO

DAY 21: Conclusion