
BY ANDREW COHEN AMVESI
ARUA: OCTOBER 30, 2024
Plastic waste, especially the poor disposal of bottles of mineral water, soft drinks and liquor, is one of the commonest forms of environmental pollution in Arua city.
However, the business of making money from collecting plastics for sale is often regarded as a job for mentally deranged people. But this seemingly despised business is saving the environment in disguise by removing the plastic waste from the environment and reducing contamination.
For Bosco Driwale, a father of 13 who also is a retired private security guard, collection of plastic bottles from the roadside filth for sale to the middlemen in the recycling business is now the survival resort of necessity.
Driwale who hails from Terego district previously worked in different parts of the country before being transferred to Arua city.
Mid this year, life got harder for him as his security company failed to pay his wage for three months.
Driwale was earning shs130,000 per month, the money he would use to pay his children’s school fees and buy food for the family.
Left with no other option, Driwale started making ends meet by collecting used plastic bottles for sale.
Each day, Driwale collects about 10 kilograms of plastic bottles in sacks and polythene bags which he sells at shs500 per kilogram.

With sweat all over his face, Driwale recently met this reporter interviewing one of his colleagues, Alfred Oluka in Awindiri Cell, Ayivu Division in Arua city.
So curious to know what the duo was discussing, Driwale found Oluka speaking about the reasons that propelled him to start collecting plastic bottles.
Before giving him a chance, Driwale quickly chipped in by saying: “For survival; I used to work as a Securiko (meaning security guard), I have now worked for three months, but no salary.”
“We want to survive; we are looking for our survival. Who will give us? Instead of stealing, we have to suffer because we don’t have money. I use the little money I get for buying food,” Driwale said.
Driwale found Oluka, also a former private guard, sharing similar sentiments on why he is collecting plastic bottles.
Oluka says he collects the plastic bottles mainly from water channels and people’s dustbins to earn a living.
“I collect them because, actually, they block the Mutaro (roadside water channels). We collect and take them to the store, from the store, a vehicle will come and take them to the factory. So, we don’t know what happens from there. We also collect them because we want to get survival out of it. Some children are also there at home, so I send part of the money home,” Oluka explained.

Oluka collects about 20 kilograms of plastic bottles in a day which he sells at shs500 per kilogram at the store in Awindiri near Rhema hospital along Arua – Nebbi road, about 3km away from Arua city center
The two plastic bottle dealers argued that in other places in Arua city, the plastic bottles are sold at shs300 per kilogram, a reason they prefer the store in Awindiri cell, Ayivu Division, Arua city.
“The challenge is when we collect these plastic bottles, some people call us mad people (insane) yet we are not. We at times feel bad but we have nothing to do because we know this is what brings food on our table,” Oluka said.
Oluka wondered whether those who throw plastics to litter and contaminate the environment are themselves mentally sound.
Relatedly, Simon Drobo, 28, a resident of Omoo village in Adumi ward, Ayivu Division who sells his plastic bottles at shs300 in Obolokofuku cell, Arua Central Division, said people at times falsely refer to them as thieves while some call them mad people without knowing that this is their only source of livelihood.
Drobo, a father of two, says he gets between shs6000 to shs7000 daily from the sale of the plastic bottles which money is helping him to look after his family.
Similarly, Rose Aletiru, 26, a resident of Ajono-Yivu village in Vurra sub-county, Arua district, says the Shs8,000 she earns from the sale of plastic bottles helps her to buy food and other requirements such as clothing for her two children.
Meanwhile Esther Asizu, a mother of three and a resident of Ocebu-Alivu village, Offaka sub-county in Madi Okollo district operates a bar in a Kiosk located in Abira cell, Ayivu Division in Arua City.
In the bar, Asizu has a separate fridge in which she keeps juice for sale. She usually fills the Guava, Brother-heart and passion fruit juice in mineral water bottles and each goes for shs1000.
Asizu says she normally collects the used plastic bottles from functions such as fundraisings and funerals.
“I first wash the plastic bottles with liquid soap before filling them with juice to avoid risks of infecting my customers. You know some people might be having their own illnesses in the mouth, so when I get those bottles, I first wash them with liquid soap to avoid infecting other people,” Asizu said.
“In a day, I can make between shs8000 to shs10,000 from the juice. After making that money, I save part of it in a wooden box and use the balance to buy the juicy ingredients like passion fruits and Guava among others. At the end of the month or two, I can remove the money from the box by destroying its bottom and later take it to a carpenter to repair. This is the money I use to buy school requirements for my children and at times, food to restock my kitchen,” Asizu narrated.
Asizu believes that by collecting the plastic bottles, she is also contributing to preserving the environment because such bottles can end up in water bodies and people’s gardens thus polluting the environment.
For Hassan Gestkin it was a right decision to leave barber work for the plastic bottle business. Unlike others who weigh their products on weighing scales, Gestkin sells his plastic bottles in numbers depending on the size to women dealing in cooking oil and juice business.
To ensure that the plastic bottles are bought quickly, Gestkin first washes and spreads the plastic bottles to dry from a stream in Nsambia cell, Arua Central Division every morning.

With readily available customers in Arua main market, Gestkin who used to share the money he makes from saloon with his boss now enjoys the clean money he makes from the sale of plastic bottles.
“By the time I was working in the saloon, I could share the shs5000 or shs7000 I could make in a day with my boss but when I started collecting these plastic bottles from bars, shops, gardens and dustbins; wash them and sell,” Gestkin disclosed.
He earns at least shs10,000 in a day which is much better than what he used to get while working as a barber. This has enabled him to buy some food and soap for the family on a daily basis.
According to Gestkin, he picks some of the bottles with urine inside while others with soil and by washing them thoroughly, he does his customers a favor.
But after buying the bottles from Gestkin, Nehema Adiru, a cooking oil vendor in Arua main market says she still has to wash the plastic bottles afresh because she doesn’t trust the source of water Gestkin uses and the manner in which he washed the plastic wastes.
Rogers Wanock, one of the buyers of the plastic bottles in Awindiri cell, says in a day they can buy up to 200 kilograms of plastic bottles at shs500 per kilogram.

He noted that after a month, the plastic bottles are loaded on a truck and transported to Kampala for recycling.
“Actually, we are keeping the environment clean by collecting all these things. When these plastic bottles are stuck in the soil, they can prevent water from entering the soil, Wanock said.
He reiterated that by opening the trash buying shop, their target was to buy one ton of plastic bottles in Arua city every day.
“We started this business early this year by buying like 30 to 40 kilograms of plastic bottles every day. I know with time, we shall hit our target because the number of people coming to sell these plastic bottles for survival is ever increasing,” added Wanock.
Uhuru Kassim, another plastic bottle buyer in Obolokofuku cell in Arua Central Division recounted how his business has transformed many youths who were known thieves in the area to leave pickpocketing because every time they would need money, he would lend them and come back with plastic bottles.
Innovation in plastic waste business
Rose Dominic Clara, a member of Community Initiative for Development, a youth-led community-based organization in Arua city, said they have embarked on recycling plastic bottles so as to produce pavers out of them.
With their production area being at Ewuata composite site in Eruba parish, Vurra sub-county in Arua district, the youths burn the plastic bottles in a drum, add sand in the drum and stir the substance to later produce pavers of different shapes and sizes.

Clara says they started the recycling project two years ago as a way of managing waste in the city with the help of a member who has expertise in recycling.
In a day, Clara said they were locally producing around 40 pavers, adding that if they were to use modern machines, they could produce about 100 pavers a day, each to be sold at Shs1,500.
She said the group was mainly relying on membership and subscription fee to buy the materials used in the recycling plant.
However, Clara said with time, they were limited by funds hence forcing the group to pause the recycling project pending any funding opportunity.
Being an initiative to protect the environment, Clara also observed that they felt concerned about the smoke they were emitting into the sky during the process of melting the plastic bottles, a reason they had to stop the whole process to allow the group to get better technologies that can support their production without contaminating the environment.
Officials speak out
Sam Wadri Nyakua, the Arua city Mayor, said as a city, they have a plan of crushing the used plastic bottles in future.
“We have a plant which has been fixed at the Ewuata dumping site which will be used for crushing those plastic bottles. We have tested it but there is only one small component which is missing, if it comes, this plastic is going to be crushed and taken to factories in Kampala for recycling,” Nyakua promised.
“In a way, we encourage these people to pick these plastic bottles and bring them to the city council at the premises in Ewuata compost. So, this is a very good initiative because what they are doing is saving the environment from being degraded by these plastic bottles,” Nyakua stated.
He, however, cautioned the public against littering the city with plastic bottles, warning that anybody found doing so will be arrested and arraigned before the city court for prosecution as a regulatory measure.
He urged people to make good use of the plastic bottle trash facilities procured by the city authority and placed at different spots in the city.

Godfrey Onyuthfua, the Manager of Arua city compost plant, confirmed that they are already in the process of putting up a plastic recycling plant.
“This will help to ensure that all the recyclables that are collected will be crushed and baled for us to maybe get revenue out of it through sale of recycled products,” Onyuthfua said.
He noted that the Arua City compost plant receives on average, an estimated 50 tons of garbage daily, which translates to 350 tons weekly and 1,400 tons monthly. But Onyuthfua said what they collect is approximately 30 percent of what the city generates.
“When waste enters this plant, we ensure that they are supposed to be segregated. We have 15 sorters here who manually segregate plastics from the other kitchen or other types of wastes,” Onyuthfua stated.
The composition of the waste generated in the city is approximately 70% organic/biodegradable matter, 10% plastics and polythene, 5% metal, 10% debris, and 5% others.
The impact of garbage on climate change
According to Onyuthfua, there is a close link between garbage and climate change. He said garbage generates a lot of greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and moisture or water.
“All these are greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change and so, the goal of this plant is to ensure that we achieve an environmentally friendly solid waste management,” said Onyuthfua.
“How do we ensure this? The impact is supposed to be felt in terms of reduction or having a positive impact on the climate, so when decomposition is controlled, the release of methane as greenhouse gas is also minimized,” Onyuthfua explained.
Relatedly, Onyuthfua said they are ensuring that there is no open burning of wastes at the site as well as other designated points.
“You know when waste is burnt, it releases carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which has an impact on the climate. So, here we don’t tolerate open burning. Whereas we have an incinerator which is supposed to burn at a controlled temperature to have a complete combustion. If we condone open burning, we have incomplete combustion and therefore, we shall be releasing toxic gasses such as carbon-monoxide which is harmful to the environment, human beings and other living organisms,” Onyuthfua remarked.
Expert’s view on plastic bottles
Manasseh Anziku, the Arua district Senior Health Inspector who also doubles as the district Environment officer, explained that generally, plastics are made from petroleum products which have chemicals.

He added that such plastic bottles were first of all, not meant for beverages people make from homes for sale but they were meant for water which is fairly a very stable substance.
Anziku said as a result, when one adds juice into plastic bottles, its PH (Acidity and Alkalinity level) makes some of the chemicals leak into the juice which consumers later take in their bodies.
However, Anziku encouraged the locals to continue picking the plastic bottles so that they are taken for recycling to save the environment.
“The earth is not expanding; it is actually getting smaller because our number is over-swelling. So, we really need to jealously guard and keep our environment clean for all,” Anziku said.
Sharon Ocola, the Mentoring and Empowerment Programme for Young Women (MEMPROW) Communications Officer, said as an organization, they are promoting environmentally friendly practices like tree growing, agroecology adoption, clean energy trainings and waste management to ensure that the environment is protected from activities that expose it to negative effects of climate change.