Plastic waste processing and recovery units are being established in Bobo-Dioulasso thanks to buyers of its bags. We spoke with some of them this Sunday October 8, 2023.
Plastic bags abandoned in nature are collected by women and children who sell them to Drissa Kansambe in Belleville. For 6 years, he has been purchasing plastic bags with love and passion. This idea came from his friend who, during his trip to Ghana, saw the sachet processing machine and suggested that they work together. He buys them from women and the friend in question transforms them into clothes washing boards and black bags. Others are packaged and shipped to Senegal to make mats.
And since then they have become partners till date. Plastic bags are purchased at 100 FCFA/kg in the dry season and at 75 FCFA/kg in the rainy season, because rainwater wets the bags and makes them heavier. Also, he hires the service of other people to help him. “Alone, I cannot; I employ more than 7 young people to help me work,” says Drissa Kansambé. In fact, some sort the bad plastics, since not all plastics are purchasable. For example, he doesn’t buy the black bags. He says he doesn’t melt the way he wants, because the melted bags must come out red. This is not the case with the black bag.
Some young people go to weigh the bags for certain customers. He says he pays these young people 13,000 FCFA per week each. The difficulties he encounters are in the selection of bags. “Some women collect with sand so that it weighs more. In this case, if you are not careful, you buy and when you arrive at the factory, we don’t take them. he said. He adds that the Forest Water services say to bring 300,000 FCFA to obtain a document, because the job he does falls within the framework of the environment. According to them, they release batteries into nature after processing by machines. They must have a piece of paper that clearly shows that they are the ones doing the work of the bags.
Despite the difficulties, the area is profitable because there are collections everywhere every day. Processing units also benefit from this. FASO PLACE SARL, located in sector 23 of Bobo is also in this area. It employs around thirty people, including around twenty women. Everyone has their role in the company and the work is done following a defined cycle. There are several types of plastics (bags, cans, buckets, chairs, pipes). First, these women have the role of sorting and classifying the plastics for each delivery and washing them.
Then, a machine grinds them into small pieces. Finally, these pieces are packaged in bags to be delivered to a plastics manufacturing plant located in Bobo on the Bama road or to ship to Ghana (order of 40 to 50 tons/month). “This sector of activity is beneficial, but we face several obstacles such as paper costs which are too high for us. We make them for 50,000 FCFA. We are exposed to mosquitoes, insufficient stock. Because of competition we are forced to go to other localities to look for them (Bama, Banfora),” explains Marc Kaboré, the manager of FASO PLACE SARL.
They call on the authorities to look into the establishment of the environmental document. Because if they have to stop their activity because of this, what will our streets look like? What will become of these women and children who make a living from collecting plastic?
Zenabou SANA
Oumou-Koulsoum OUEDRAOGO/ Interns
