Niger

Hi, My name is Nkemdinma Onyebuenyi; I am the project co-ordinator and co-founder of kiakiapaks.com. “If you haven’t noticed Our world is submerged with plastic waste, from the heights of Himalayas to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean we have tons of toxic plastic lying around. Whether we like it or not, plastic waste is our inherited toxic legacy. Let's use our inherited toxic legacy as a resource to create NEW VALUE and SOCIAL INNOVATION.” Having been in the business of hauling dirt for over half a decade, we observed that plastic waste disposal is a huge environmental problem globally simply because we do not have the right attitude towards plastic waste. For a developing nation like ours where effective and efficient solid waste management systems and schemes are almost non-existent or lacking in capacity, we observed that the environmental impact of improper plastic waste handling is felt most by the poorest members of our society. The impact of unregulated waste is manifold and well understood– From the disease associated with the blocking of drains by plastic, To the effect on air quality of uncontrolled burning of waste which are largely plastic, As well as the impacts of landfill gas from uncontrolled landfills. And this is before you take into consideration the visual impact of uncontrolled littering. It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic enter into our oceans per annum with its attendant harmful effects on environmental and marine life. In a bid to leverage the potential resource value in plastic waste to empower the poorest members of our society and also get everybody involved in the process of encouraging an end to the use and toss attitude associated with plastic bags as well as encouraging the retail sector to be ecologically responsible by using recycled and re-usable products over virgin products, we developed KIAKIAPAKS. KIAKIAPAKS are personalised, re-usable plastic packaging that promotes business brands to your doorstep; made from high quality recycled plastic waste. The Plan is to do three things: The First step is to engage the unique feminine consciousness, gifts and leadership of women in our plastic waste collection program. By standardising the plastic waste collection process and fees; we will be empowering our GREEN ANGELS who are the poor women in our society. This will enable us develop a very large network of GREEN ANGELS that will participate in our plastic waste collection scheme to bring in most of the plastic waste that ordinarily should have ended up being burnt or in our oceans while improving their livelihoods. The second plan is to process all the plastic waste collected. We will then recycle the plastic waste materials to the installed capacity of our plant to produce KIAKIAPAKS which are personalised to client specification and shipped to their door step and the materials that we do not have the capacity to recycle will be sold to bigger recyclers. Finally, we will cause attitudinal change through communication and social mobilisation: using our success story and the transformation stories of our GREEN ANGELS to drive a communication and social mobilisation campaign that will increase awareness and education on safe waste handling practices and put a STOP to the burning of waste which is largely plastic. With your support we can: We can stop the uncontrolled burning of plastic which is considered one of the great environmental health hazards of our time Reduce CO2 emissions that is harmful to our planet Reduce the amount of toxic fumes released into the atmosphere during burning Improve the plastic waste collection process and fees to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our society Reduce the Impact of Climate Change through our tree planting campaign which is the bedrock of our corporate social responsibility Reduce, Re-use and Recycle plastic waste to create new value. One city at a time... Please back the project and tell everyone you know to help spread the word! Every amount is deeply appreciated and will greatly help us to protect our most important resource which is our environment. After making a contribution and getting one of our perks, you can help by inviting your friends, family and peers by sharing our campaign. • Make some noise, and share this page by word of mouth! • Share this page on all your social media platforms. The more people we can reach the greater chance we have of reaching our goal. • Use Indiegogo share tools to spread the message! • Share our Facebook page with your friends, the more people we can get following us, the greater chance for success we will have. • Email it to five friends • Tweet about it Thank you for joining our campaign to foster a global culture of ecological responsibility and care. Be clean and stay green, thank you and goodbye...

• published: 03 Nov 2016
• views: 73