By Kefiloe Kajane
Recycling has emerged across Africa, driven more by poverty, unemployment and socio- economic need than by public and private sector design. An estimated 70–80 percent of the municipal solid waste generated in Africa is recyclable, yet only four percent of municipal solid waste is currently recycled.
Lesotho’s very own Limpho Thoahlane is cashing in on the recycling industry with her recycling company Pheha Plastic which she established in February this year.
Thoahlane is a young Mosotho woman from Morija who is passionate about climate change and recycling; she decided to take a stand, not to just change her life but the future of her community as well.
Pheha Plastic is a recycling company that focuses on plastic and is based in Morija; it produces all plastic products.
Speaking to theReporter about her new venture, Thoahlane said she was a volunteer at Morija Hub, working on climate change issues.
She recalls that she was approached by a Belgium company on Twitter called Fortech Studie which is active in project development in Lesotho and Ghana.
“The company bought us three machines that enable us to recycle plastic by burning it and making products from the recycled plastic. We are currently still experimenting with the machines and also trying to see which plastic is recyclable and which one is not, and what we can do with that which cannot be recycled.
“Our main aim and vision as Pheha Plastic is not just to recycle the plastic but to clean to keep the environment of Morija clean, while also producing amazing products from what was once a trash.
“We want this project to benefit only our community but the entire Lesotho as well. In a few months we will hire more people who will work on production and maybe work with other people as well, who are already collecting plastics, to be our collectors,” she said.
She further said their challenge at the moment is still trying to figure out everything with the new machine and learning more about different plastics.
Thoahlane says she learnt everything herself from watching YouTube videos. She said they have currently produced rulers, buttons and tiles; they are looking to produce more things that they can sell as well. According to a United Nations Environment research of 2018, 125 million tonnes of municipal solid waste was generated in Africa in 2012, which is expected to double by
