Going Green group learns about plastic usage, takes part in beach cleanup

On 9 March, the Going Green umbrella group at the Academy visited Beifa Trading Limited, a recycling site in Mtwapa, Takkazi plastic drop off point in Shanzu and participated in a beach cleanup at the Aga Khan Cottages in Bamburi. The Going Green umbrella group consists of enrichments, such as Green Gang, Everyday Africa, Young Farmers and Anicare, and subjects at the Academy, such as Geography and Environmental Systems and Societies. The main objective of this event was to encourage students to become aware of plastic waste and its disposal in Mombasa, understand the dangers of plastic waste on marine life and what can be done to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic. Here, we look at a reflection from Sandra Wachera, year 8, and her experience.

Plastic bottles collected by the Going Green group, which were separated into piles.“The Going Green umbrella club visited Beifa Trading Limited, a recycling site in Mtwapa. During the trip we learned that different types of plastics can be recycled to form different products. Beifa Trading Limited is an industry that buys and collects plastic bottles of different colour and type and shred it according to colour and type of plastic. At the Beifa Trading Limited they also sell their shredded polypropylene (PP) plastic bottles to China to produce textiles, which are used to make clothes. Mr. Emmanuel, the group's guideOur guide, Mr. Emmanuel, also showed us his collection site of various categories of plastic, which included PP and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic that he sells to other industries in Kenya to make different types of plastic products, such as basins. During the trip we learned that the solution to the plastic problem is to recycle, reduce our usage of plastics and look for an eco-friendly and an efficient way to replace the plastics we use.

Going Green group taking part in a beach cleanup at Aga Khan Cottages in Bamburi.Later, we went for a beach cleanup whereby the plastic collected was separated to PP and HDPE piles. We also noted that our beaches are dirty and we should come up with an initiative to help us conserve the marine life because plastic harms the animals and plants. We should conserve our environment by waste management, hence we should reduce, reuse and recycle. It is also important to know that plastic items does not decompose easily and can take up to 1,000 years to do so. This means that the plastic we use will keep on accumulating and the amount of trash will increase, which is dangerous to our environment.

I also learned that it is better to reduce the amount of plastic products we use in our daily life and that we should find other products that we can use instead of plastic. Reducing the use of plastic is the best way; I would advise everyone to use materials that can be recycled. I would also advise people to reuse items so that we can stop wasting money and littering of plastic and other products, hence conserving the environment.”