Communities urged to turn waste into wealth

DAR ES SALAAM: COMMUNITIES have been encouraged to view waste as an economic resource, with growing initiatives promoting recycling and reuse as a way to generate income, improve environmental management and support local livelihoods.

The statement was made by Coordinator of the Plastics Energy Trading and Recycling Processing Organisation (PETpro), Mr Nicholaus Ambwene while announcing a new project to collect glass bottles not returned in crates to boost environmental protection and community participation in waste management.

“This initiative, implemented through a partnership between the Plastics Energy Trading and Recycling Processing Organisation (PETpro) and Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), aims to strengthen waste collection systems while creating income opportunities for citizens through the ‘Taka Pesa’ (Waste to Money) programme,” he said.

Mr Ambwene said the project aims to establish a friendly and accessible infrastructure that will help collect glass bottles from various places including hotels, restaurants, bars and households.

He explained that special collection centres known as ‘Taka Pesa Glass Collection Centres’ will receive all types of glass bottles generated in different areas.

“We want to achieve the same success with glass bottles as we have seen in plastic bottle collection.

Through our partnership with TBL, we will create a convenient infrastructure to remove glass bottles from the environment and turn them into valuable resources,” Ambwene said.

He added that the system has been designed to be communityfriendly and to make it easier for residents to understand the best ways to collect and deliver glass bottles instead of disposing of them carelessly.

According to Ambwene, collection centres will initially be established in several locations including ‘Mbezi kwa Zena’, Jangwani, Coco Beach, and Pugu, with plans to expand to more areas as the project grows.

He noted that the initiative is part of broader efforts to ensure that not only plastic waste is managed but also glass waste, by establishing a modern system for collecting and transporting glass bottles from the environment.

Through the project, special vehicles and collection equipment will be used to gather glass bottles and remove them from the environment—an effort expected to significantly improve environmental cleanliness while increasing the value of waste through the ‘Taka Pesa’ system.