“It starts with you” are the words that inspired Tunomugisha Pelepetwa to start a new job, recycle plastic and make a difference to her whole community.
Pelepetwa lives and works in Lwemiyaga, which is north of Lytonde and 100 km away from Eco Brixs’ Recycling Factory in Masaka. At 60 years olds and a life-long cleaner at her church (which neighbours a nursery and school), she never imagined she’d be taking on a second job.
However, one day when she was picking up plastic from the school playground, the visiting Vicar General mentioned to her how recycling organisations (like Eco Brixs) would pay her for the plastic she picking up, and he’d seen it littered all around the village. When she said she was unsure what difference she could make as the plastic was everywhere, he picked up a bottle and passed it to her, replying “It starts with you”.
“Do you know you can earn a lot of money from plastic waste collection?”
-- Vicar General, speaking to Pelepetwa
She was reluctant at first, especially considering her age, but after taking some time to think about it, she decided to speak with the church’s Vicar, Reverend Father Martin Mulumba, who she'd worked with for many years about the area’s plastic problem. He introduced her to Eco Brixs and even offered her a space on the church’s land to store the plastic she'd gathered until Eco Brixs could collect it.
With this encouragement, Pelepetwa started collecting plastic from around the area and by the end of the first month, she had gathered 1 tonnes of plastic! Eco Brixs’ truck then visited Lwemiyaga, weighed the plastic, paid her for it, and took the plastic back to Masaka to be recycled into new Eco-Products.
This success convinced her to carry on and she used the income to set up a Recycling Hub that she now manages, where local people in the area bring her plastic that she weighs and pays them for, before selling on the ‘bulk’ plastic to Eco Brixs every 1-2 months. The site has even got so busy that she employs people from her local community to help her sort the plastic, ready for Eco Brix’s collection.
Pelepetwa’s hub on average collects 1.5 tonnes of plastic a month for recycling, helping keep her village clean and creating work for people in the village. She even feels more connected with the community now as she gets to speak to all the people who bring her plastic. And she does all this alongside cleaning at the church!
What a difference one conversation can make! And what a difference Pelepetwa is making in her area! Reflecting back on the beginning of her recycling journey, Pelepetwa now says:
“You are the solution you’re looking for so take action.”
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