Meet our newest sponsored organization
Ecologistics has added a second foreign-based sponsored organization to our family. Please see the article below by Phoebe Edalatpour of Wi Yone Plastik.
Wi Yone Plastik brings recycling options, health programing, and job opportunities to women in rural Sierra Leone. Our mission is to catalyze gender equity and improved health outcomes in rural Sierra Leone by employing female makers to transform plastic litter into valuable building materials.
Currently, there are no waste management services in rural Sierra Leone communities so household waste is either burned or littered along the side of the road.
Burning waste contributes to higher levels of particulate matter in the air, leading to increased instances of respiratory illness – the second leading cause of death in Sierra Leone. Burning plastic waste in particular releases toxic and carcinogenic chemicals into the air. With plastic contributing to about a sixth of the volume of household waste on average, removing plastic from dirty boxes would reduce the overall particulate matter count in the atmosphere and eliminate the most significant source of toxicity from waste burning emissions.
The health risk posed by these emissions disproportionately affects women and girls who collect and dispose of household waste as a part of their daily chores.
Wi Yone Plastik aims to utilize community-level plastic collection services. Working with an existing recycling center, we will convert plastic waste into building materials. The facility melts the plastic and mixes it with sand to form a strong compound. This compound can be shaped into bricks, pavers, and more.
Our team plans to initiate a 9-month pilot program in June 2022 to test recycling collection services and educational programs. We will start in four Bonthe District communities within Sogbini, Kpanda Kemo, and Jong Chiefdoms. After the first phase of the pilot, we hope to create our own recycling facility central to these three chiefdoms. Learn more about our pilot program, partner communities, and the Wi Yone Plastik team at www.wiyoneplastik.org.
