Senegal: aboard the Plastic Odyssey to dream of a cleaner world

A yellow helmet screwed on the ears, Baptiste Lomenech, 26, explains to a dozen young entrepreneurs from Senegal the operation of the extruder, a machine used to recycle plastic

Senegal: aboard the Plastic Odyssey to dream of a cleaner world

A yellow helmet screwed on the ears, Baptiste Lomenech, 26, explains to a dozen young entrepreneurs from Senegal the operation of the extruder, a machine used to recycle plastic.

He is responsible for the recycling workshop of the Plastic Odyssey, a laboratory ship that left France for a three-year world tour to offer solutions to plastic pollution and to develop a global network of local initiatives.

That day in the port of Dakar, the crew of the boat, about twenty people, worked on all floors to receive local project leaders and introduce them to the recycling techniques offered by Plastic Odyssey.

At the back of the ship, the machines are already humming when they arrive. The boat offers a complete circuit: a crusher to reduce the waste to shavings, a washing tank, a centrifuge to dry it, an extruder to transform it. The idea is to offer a technology that is easy to use, patent-free and easily accessible.

The questions flow. "How long does it take to chill?", "How much does it cost?", "Are there ways to increase the density?". Everyone shares their techniques, their know-how, their experience.

All of them are already developing projects related to plastic, but they see the training on board the boat as a ramp for acceleration and a necessary exchange platform in a country confronted with plastic pollution.

"Being here widens my field of action and reflection. I saw that it was feasible to install inexpensive machines for recycling. We knew we had the capacity to do it but we did not know how do," Boubacar Diakhité, of the Défaratt company based in Gandiol, in the north, told AFP.

"Ideas? It gives 100 a minute, it's incredible to be able to meet all these entrepreneurs", enthuses Lenora Hamon, 29, who plans to launch in Casamance (south) with the association Nio Far a unit plastic processing.

The streets in Senegal are commonly littered with plastic waste. The beaches are stained with it. Wild dumps abound. The Mbeubeuss landfill, near Dakar, one of the largest in Africa, receives more than 3,000 tons of rubbish every day, polluting the soil and water.

For Simon Bernard, co-founder of Plastic Odyssey, two approaches must be combined: recycling the immense quantities of plastic left as a legacy and drastically reducing the production of waste. Every minute around the world, nearly 20 tons of plastic end up in the ocean and turn into irretrievable microparticles.

Although the Senegalese authorities banned single-use plastic bags in 2020, "the law is still not applied and alternative solutions are not offered", says Aisha Conte, president of the Zero Waste association in the country. She deplores "a lack of political will".

Young entrepreneurs like Abdoul Bakhy Mbacke are trying to move the lines. With CIPROVIS, it has launched a range of activities ranging from raising awareness to upgrading.

The idea of ​​getting involved in waste management came to him in his neighborhood. "The collection truck only passed on the main roads, and wild dumps were created everywhere. We thought of using tricycles to weave through the small streets and offer a local waste collection service", explains he.

In the industrial zone of Diamniadio, about thirty kilometers from Dakar, it shows the recycling center where the plastic waste collected from companies and households is deposited, which subscribes to a subscription varying between 6,000 and 9,000 CFA francs per month (from 9 to 13 euros). He says he recovers 15 tonnes of waste every day, of which around 20% is plastic.

Mounds of packaging and bottles are piled up near imposing machines, most of which are shut down or undergoing maintenance. Currently, it relies on partners for the transformation phase but wishes to set up a pilot project with Plastic Odyssey to develop its own recycling activity.

He believes that the sector should be subsidized. “The costs are passed on to the customers when on the contrary we should encourage them to sort”, he explains. "Today, we are somewhat replacing the State, but that does not discourage us. It is our Senegal. If the State decides to join us, we will receive them with pleasure but we are not expecting anyone".

03/09/2023 10:28:18 -         Dakar (AFP) -         © 2023 AFP