Recycling jerricans for a living
Jan 19, 2004
Sale of second hand jerricans could alleviate poverty, improve on the environment and raise standards of living for many people.<br>As we try to come to terms with the heaps of solid waste in our schools and surroundings, a number of individuals and organisations have realised that waste is an impo
Sale of second hand jerricans could alleviate poverty, improve on the environment and raise standards of living for many people.
As we try to come to terms with the heaps of solid waste in our schools and surroundings, a number of individuals and organisations have realised that waste is an important resource.
James Mutabingwa, 37, has not only benefited from collecting garbage but has also embarked on advising schools, locals and individuals on how to sort rubbish for income.
Mutabingwa lives in Kampala but has been riding his bicycle daily, to homes, schools and towns (as far as Wakiso and Seeta), collecting all sorts of jerricans for sale, for the last two years.
“I collect and buy five-litre jerricans and smaller ones from schools such as Namilyango College, Midland College, Makerere College, Gayaza high school and many others,†he says.
Mutabingwa is sure of his source of jerricans.
He targets especially boarding schools because many students use jerricans for drinks, while teachers use mukwano cooking oil in their families.
By the end of the term, he is sure to collect a cache of empties at sh250 per five-litre used-jerrican. He then sells them at sh300 each, to a whole saler in Kampala.
Mutabingwa visited me as the teacher in charge of environment and compound at my home at Gayaza High School. His initiative intrigued me.
Indeed, Mutabingwa is an implementor, and a specialist in one of the famous global proposals to waste management. No one should underrate this activity.
‘Clean up the world,’ one of the most inspiring and effective international environmental programmes in the world, sees waste not as rubbish, but a resource.
Its key message is to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Mutabingwa is a ‘re-user.
He narrates how he started: “I got perturbed when I saw jerricans being burnt in a rubbish pit at Namilyango College one time.â€
As a poor man who hails from Mbarara, without a job in Kampala, he saw money being burnt in a rubbish pit.
In his view, collection and buying jerricans is a source of employment.
“Everyday, I earn more than sh5,000 as profit,†he says.
“Besides, jerricans are hard to dump, compress and dispose off.†They look ugly in school compounds. That means that beside earning a living, we are helping reduce the volume of these items,†he says.
Like Mutabingwa, John Mugisa, 40, is a prominent dealer in used jerricans at Kampala Bus Park, the axis of jerrican wholesale vendors, for the last three years.
“I buy, I clean them and sell them to traders who in turn take them to Arua, Bundibugyo, Mbarara, Kapchorwa and to many landing sites on Lake Victoria,†he says.
To appreciate the services of dealers in used jerricans, one has to appreciate the magnitude of used jerricans as a waste.
At the end of a term in Gayaza High School alone, about 1,000 jerricans of different sizes are collected. One can only imagine what to expect from 10 schools.
If other institutions and businesses that use jerricans like bakeries, hospitals, painters and so on, are considered, one wonders where and how these jerricans are disposed.
Mutabingwa advises users to form organisations which can collect and sell the jerricans to vendors, so that the public is saved from the bother of scattered jerricans in the compound.
He suggests that environment clubs collect and sort jerricans and sell them to support their clubs.
However, Mutabingwa’s relationship with Kampala city council is not cordial.
“At times, City Council officials mistake us for unwanted hawkers. When we explain that we buy and sell used jerricans, they do not understand us,†he says.
He revealed that there are hundreds of people actively engaged in this business but they remain undercover for fear of being taxed by government authorities.
The trade is fascinating. Deep in rural areas, the jerricans are on high demand. A new jerrican costs sh1,000 whereas a used one goes for sh500.
Plastic jerricans are used for storing drinking water, carrying milk (especially in Mbarara) and are popular as bushera containers in Kabale. Children use them to collect water for domestic use.
As we try to come to terms with the heaps of solid waste in our schools and surroundings, a number of individuals and organisations have realised that waste is an important resource.
James Mutabingwa, 37, has not only benefited from collecting garbage but has also embarked on advising schools, locals and individuals on how to sort rubbish for income.
Mutabingwa lives in Kampala but has been riding his bicycle daily, to homes, schools and towns (as far as Wakiso and Seeta), collecting all sorts of jerricans for sale, for the last two years.
“I collect and buy five-litre jerricans and smaller ones from schools such as Namilyango College, Midland College, Makerere College, Gayaza high school and many others,†he says.
Mutabingwa is sure of his source of jerricans.
He targets especially boarding schools because many students use jerricans for drinks, while teachers use mukwano cooking oil in their families.
By the end of the term, he is sure to collect a cache of empties at sh250 per five-litre used-jerrican. He then sells them at sh300 each, to a whole saler in Kampala.
Mutabingwa visited me as the teacher in charge of environment and compound at my home at Gayaza High School. His initiative intrigued me.
Indeed, Mutabingwa is an implementor, and a specialist in one of the famous global proposals to waste management. No one should underrate this activity.
‘Clean up the world,’ one of the most inspiring and effective international environmental programmes in the world, sees waste not as rubbish, but a resource.
Its key message is to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Mutabingwa is a ‘re-user.
He narrates how he started: “I got perturbed when I saw jerricans being burnt in a rubbish pit at Namilyango College one time.â€
As a poor man who hails from Mbarara, without a job in Kampala, he saw money being burnt in a rubbish pit.
In his view, collection and buying jerricans is a source of employment.
“Everyday, I earn more than sh5,000 as profit,†he says.
“Besides, jerricans are hard to dump, compress and dispose off.†They look ugly in school compounds. That means that beside earning a living, we are helping reduce the volume of these items,†he says.
Like Mutabingwa, John Mugisa, 40, is a prominent dealer in used jerricans at Kampala Bus Park, the axis of jerrican wholesale vendors, for the last three years.
“I buy, I clean them and sell them to traders who in turn take them to Arua, Bundibugyo, Mbarara, Kapchorwa and to many landing sites on Lake Victoria,†he says.
To appreciate the services of dealers in used jerricans, one has to appreciate the magnitude of used jerricans as a waste.
At the end of a term in Gayaza High School alone, about 1,000 jerricans of different sizes are collected. One can only imagine what to expect from 10 schools.
If other institutions and businesses that use jerricans like bakeries, hospitals, painters and so on, are considered, one wonders where and how these jerricans are disposed.
Mutabingwa advises users to form organisations which can collect and sell the jerricans to vendors, so that the public is saved from the bother of scattered jerricans in the compound.
He suggests that environment clubs collect and sort jerricans and sell them to support their clubs.
However, Mutabingwa’s relationship with Kampala city council is not cordial.
“At times, City Council officials mistake us for unwanted hawkers. When we explain that we buy and sell used jerricans, they do not understand us,†he says.
He revealed that there are hundreds of people actively engaged in this business but they remain undercover for fear of being taxed by government authorities.
The trade is fascinating. Deep in rural areas, the jerricans are on high demand. A new jerrican costs sh1,000 whereas a used one goes for sh500.
Plastic jerricans are used for storing drinking water, carrying milk (especially in Mbarara) and are popular as bushera containers in Kabale. Children use them to collect water for domestic use.