Plastiki Rafiki was honoured to be invited as an exhibitor at the recent Green Expo and National Dialogue event hosted by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) at the Kenya International Conference Centre. NEMA and the National Steering Committee have organized the Expo to launch the “Kenya Plastics Pact” as one of the build-up activities to commemorate the 2023 World Environment Day celebrated on 5th June of each year. The global theme for this year is “Solutions to plastic pollution”, and the slogan is “Beat plastic pollution”.
The theme seeks to highlight science-backed solutions to tackle the problem of plastic pollution as the global community tries to address the Earth’s triple planetary crisis – climate, nature, and pollution. In Kenya, other than waste collectors, the plastic recycling space is primarily dominated by a few big players, many of which ironically are subsidiaries or more prominent plastic manufacturers. We believe that for Kenyans to see discarded plastic as a resource, the know-how and technology must reach the grassroots level. During the event, we showcased the different open-source machines we fabricate and the different plastic products designed by ISK students. There is no reason every town in Kenya can not have its own recycling centre where discarded plastic is collected and turned into innovative products.