03 Aug 2016

In an effort to encourage the essence of reducing, re-cycling and re-use, Prime Projects has found it fit to come up with an initiative dubbed ‘Zero Waste BW’ to cut waste in the landfills.

Speaking at media briefing in Gaborone on Tuesday, managing director of Prime Projects, Mr Akim Setswalo noted that the company’s initiative seeks to offer a full service to supply, install and service recycling stations to clients who support Zero Waste BW.

He said the initiative encourages people to re-use waste such as car tyres, bottles and palllets to make other products to reduce taking waste to landfills and also create income.

In his remarks, the chief executive officer of Citizen Entrepreneurial Development agency (CEDA) Mr Thabo Thamae said they agreed to come on board and support the initiative by Prime Projects, since CEDA is open to investing in businesses that deal with waste and recycling, among many others.

“As an organisation, we are committed to rallying behind Prime Projects as they embark on this flagship initiative, and will support it for the betterment of not only the environment,  but for the collective that is Botswana, and the world as a whole,” he said.

Mr Thamae also highlighted that the country had seen a boom in the re-use of retail pallets in which people have developed ingeniously innovative ways to make furniture from pallets that would have otherwise been discarded as a waste.

He noted that figures from Gamodubu landfill showed that a total of 70 million kilograms was received in the year 2015, almost six hundred thousand of which was made of tyres.

“It is important to emphasise that tyres are 100 per cent recyclable.  The percentage of the tyres salvaged from the waste was only just over 12 per cent.  This further adds credence to the cause that Prime Projects has embarked on.  In a perfect world, we should salvage 100 per cent, but we are only at 12 per cent right now,” said Mr Thamae. Meanwhile, Mr Thamae commended Prime Projects and encouraged them to continue on their great path for the benefit of generations to come and all citizens.

The initiative which is slated to be launched in a two day symposium in October will see Prime Projects embark on a drive to engage companies to adopt environmentally sustainable practices that drastically reduce the volume of solid waste being sent to landfills. 

The symposium will also feature a fashion show with a difference where designers will be given the opportunity to showcase designs made from recycled material. ENDS