Tubah Council embarks on innovative plastic recycling project
By Mercy Kusi
In the small university town of Bambili, Tubah subdivision of the North West region, stands the Tubah Council. Like others in the region, the Tubah municipality has suffered damages, incurred losses, and faced trials due to the ongoing Anglophone conflict. The environment has also suffered from abandonment because, over the past years, locals have struggled to stay alive, than protect the environment.
However, things are gradually changing at the level of the Tubah Council as authorities set out to sustain and protect the environment from plastic ruins. Through concerted efforts with young people in the area, the municipal leaders in August 2024, launched an eco-friendly project to construct two classrooms, and four toilets using 1500 recycled plastic bottles, that would have otherwise been littering streets and gutters.
During the 2024 summer holidays, the council hired over fifty young people, who went around and rid the streets of plastic bottles, after which they filled them up with soil, making them fit for Construction. For each bottle filled, the young people get a hundred cfa francs.
The Mayor of the municipality, Martin Tanjong, who is passionate about environmental protection with a keen interest in plastic waste reduction said his goal is to leave a legacy for young environmental enthusiasts like himself.
“It is known all over the world that Tubah Council is championing waste management , environmental protection and the fight against climate change. I want to build other people who will like the environment like I do. So, I think the youths of Tubah are a good target to accompany me in conserving the environment.”
Mayor Tanjong, August 2024
To match words with action, the council has put up a factory strictly for the transformation of plastic waste to pavement blocks. At the facility, plastic waste is collected, sorted, burnt, and fitted into molds to produce pavement blocks.
Apart from environmental protection, the recycling firm in Tubah subdivision serves as a source of income for other developmental projects as a square meter of the blocks is sold between 6000frs(10 USD) to 32000frs (53.33USD), depending on the size and shape.
One of the young men trained at the facility, 24-year-old Amstrong Abrho says the training has given him a new perspective about waste management and disposal. “Our environment is so nasty because, people dump plastic carelessly so we must go out and sort them, to keep the environment clean,” Armstrong said.
In the long run, the Tubah Council plans to construct two waste management monuments in the subdivision using plastic bottles. Apart from recycling, they have been involved in planting trees around water catchments in the area.
