Plastic waste is an ever-growing crisis for our planet and especially for our oceans, which according to one estimate receive over 14 million tons of plastic waste per year. But one Kenyan startup has figured out a way to remove some of that ocean plastic and use it for good.
Kuza Freezer collects plastic that washes up on a Mombasa beach, breaks it down, and recycles it into cold storage units, aka freezers. The freezers, which are powered by energy solar panels, are then sold to small-scale fish businesses for Ksh 100,000 ($700) apiece, as Business Tech Africa reported.
Since its founding three years ago, Kuza Freezer has already delivered more than 350 of its units.
"We are focused on providing cold storage solutions to small-scale businesses in the fish value chain and enabling them to sustainably improve their income and reduce post-harvest losses," Purity Gakuo, the company's CEO, said, according to Business Tech Africa.
Kuza Freezer makes several different types of units, ranging from ones that can be installed on boats, to ones that can be installed in businesses, to even ones that can be mounted to a motorcycle. This versatility helps people in the industry ensure that their products remain fresh and sellable at every step of the process.
According to the U.N. Environment Programme, more than 440 million tons of plastic waste are created worldwide every year. It would be impossible to measure the total amount of plastic in our oceans, but the U.N. estimates that figure at anywhere from about 82 to 219 million tons.
Plastic waste has devastating effects on marine life. Plastic has been found to be blocking the digestive tracts of at least 267 different marine species, according to Future Agenda.
To begin to solve this problem, the most pressing thing is to curb our production and consumption of single-use plastics. This is beginning to happen at a regulatory level, as more places ban the sale of these products.
As consumers, we can also make a difference by boycotting single-use plastic products to decrease the demand for them. Individual steps that we can all take include getting a reusable water bottle, ditching coffee pods, and bringing reusable bags to the grocery store.
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