Kenya stole the show when it banned single use plastic bags

For a long time these wastes had created a menace like no other…

Our livestock fed on the them…

They blocked drainage leading to flooding and loss of life and property…

They chocked our water bodies and life in it…

To name but a few.

So the ban was a blessing to us.

But so it was to others who took advantage of the opportunity.

Business people seemed to shift allegiances overnight and vouch for alternative paperbags made out of different material that is not necessarily plastic.

Not only has their popularity sky-rocketed, these new generation paperbags are the in-thing.

Apparently, they find use in almost all the things we manage to carry around and this presents a very unique opportunity for anyone

WATER HYACINTH

Let’s switch focus and descend towards the Lake for a moment (Lake Victoria I mean).

There is a menace that is causing havoc there and causing fishermen to return home with less catch.

Water hyacinth is a lake weed that has not only found a home near the shores of the lake but has proliferated inside it.

Today, some stretches of the lake cannot be navigated let alone provide fish.

Many locals strive to rid the lake of this menace but to what end?

Still, the fish reserves are dwindling (due to over fishing) and their economic realities are dimming by the day.

What options do they have?

INNOVATION

Sometimes innovation is all about looking at a problem and seeing how to make the best use of it.

And in many ways, there are innovators who have made good use of the hyacinth

Some have innovated pads for girls, tissue papers among other things.

Hyacinth (like any plant) contains a substantial amount of cellulose (plant building material) which could be used so well in packaging

PACKAGING

Harvesting, drying and extracting fibre from hyacinths could be one possible way of converting it into paper bags and other packaging material.

The advantage with such packaging material is its biodegradable, is sourced locally and empowers the locals who have lost a huge chunk of their livehood.

But not only that.

It’s a space for innovators, researchers and makers to venture into.

Besides paper bags, there are so many other packaging products we could make put of hyacinth cellulose…

Pizza packaging…

Coffee cups…

Boxes and cardboards…

The options are as many as the things we can carry.

It’s interesting how such an enterprise could reduce our importation while at the same time creating employment opportunities.

And this could be replicated on all other plant wastes in agriculture because cellulose exists everywhere

But there is a catch.

ECONOMIES OF SCALE

China and India beat us because they know the power of numbers.

If we are to stop them, then two things must come to play…

First, we must employ synergy.

Operating in groups Saccos, partnerships, CBOs will help us forge ahead.

If stakeholders put our resources together, nothing could stop us from building a packaging ind serving an entire region.

But secondly, investing in R&D is necessary to improve on production and reduce wastage.

China is very big on R&D and that’s what puts them ahead of the pack.

Our education system must focus on solving existing problems with the end game being money in people’s pockets.

IN CONCLUSION

Hyacinth is an opportunity waiting not only to happen but to be unleashed.

Conversion of hyacinth into products at an industrial scale will not only put money in people’s pockets.

It will also solve an environmental problem while at the same time giving back the fishermen of Lake Victoria their livelihoods.

Photo credit: Tran le Tuan via Pexels