Takataka Plastics is a Ugandan social enterprise launched in 2020 to locally recycle plastic waste and create jobs and a healing workplace community for vulnerable youth. Uganda produces 600 tonnes of plastic waste every day, but only 6% is collected. Most of Uganda's plastic waste is burned or dumped in waterways and soil creating environmental and public health issues. Takataka Plastics designs and builds machines to locally transform plastic waste into construction materials and other saleable, useful products. We also conduct extensive outreach and education activities to teach the community about the dangers to their health and the environment from burning and littering plastics and show them the value and beauty in recycling. We hold monthly community cleanups, conduct trainings in schools, produce radio and video programs, and work closely with the local government. Takataka Plastics collects plastic waste, processes it into new products, and sells the recycled products locally to keep the economic benefits within the community rather than exporting the value of the waste. We have developed technology to transform PET plastic waste into construction tiles, making us the first company in Uganda to locally recycle PET bottles into a final product at scale. (Water and soda bottles are the most common type of plastic waste in Uganda, but the chemical properties of PET make it difficult to recycle, so most of Uganda’s PET is burned or exported.) We have also developed other products from plastic waste including chairs, stools, coasters, phone stands, flower pots, mask inserts, and face shields. Our engineering team is comprised of talented, bright, innovative, motivated, creative, and insightful engineers and technicians who have developed and built many products and machines. For example, the small-scale injection molding machine we developed is 1/4th the cost of similar imported equipment, is more durable, and can be maintained and repaired locally. During the pandemic, to help our community fight COVID-19, we developed reusable face shields made from recycled plastic because doctors and nurses in Uganda lacked PPE. We produced and distributed over 20,000 face shields to frontline workers in 27 districts across Uganda. We currently have 48 full-time staff each of whom supports on average five dependents. Nearly half of our staff are vulnerable youth -- many formerly lived on the street and many are young, single mothers. We have a full-time counselor on staff who provides trauma counseling, life skills development, and financial literacy training. We are currently scaling up our operations in Gulu, Uganda and dream of replicating Takataka Plastics in cities across East Africa. Through local recycling and job creation, we strive to build local circular economies for People, Profits, and the Planet.
Uganda
