on from the support of the government of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for its
operations of collection and recycling of plastic
waste. An agreement links the two partners
since March 9, 2022.
After having won the confidence of the officials of the province of
Kinshasa, it is the turn of the government of the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) to show its confidence towards Ok Plast. The interest
for the work of this company specialized in the recycling of plastic
waste was concretized recently by the signature of an agreement
between Ève Bazaiba, the Deputy Prime Minister, DRC Minister of the
Environment and Sustainable Development and Medhi Attieh, the
general manager of Ok Plast. “The agreement defines the terms of
the collaboration regarding the collection, treatment, recycling of
waste and other plastic materials,” explains Eve Bazaiba.
Currently, Ok Plast is only active in the city of Kinshasa where it
aims to collect 50 tons of plastic bottles per day, against 22 tons in 2021.
For one year, the company has equipped each commune of the
DR-Congolese capital with at least five containers. For each kilogram
of plastic bottles brought in, the collector receives 100 Congolese
francs, less than one-euro cent.
The company will recycle the plastic waste in a plant that is
expected to be operational in April 2022. The facility is located in the
council of Limete. “We manufacture caps for plastic bottles, crates for
local brewery companies, plastic chairs, coolers, water pipes and
bottles of various sizes,” says Ok Plast. With the DRC government as
an ally, the company hopes to strengthen its operational efficiency in
Kinshasa and eventually expand its activities to other cities in the
country.
Administrative facilities
In the city of Kinshasa, Ok Plast has launched the “Kintoko” initiative.
Within the framework of this project, the government of the DRC will
grant facilities to the company Ok Plast to obtain all the necessary
documents to carry out its work. “We will make the effort so that the
company has the electricity which it needs. We will avoid the
hassles in terms of taxes. We will also make sure that OK Plast has
the exemption for the entrants“, affirms the minister Ève Bazaiba.
This facility will extend over a period of five years, renewable.
By signing the partnership agreement for the protection of the
environment in Kinshasa on March 9, 2022, the DR-Congolese
government and the OK Plast company have also agreed to the
establishment of a formal framework of joint collaboration that will
identify the needs related to the service, the mobilization of funds
related to it as well as the modalities of the joint execution of the
selected activities.
By Inès Magoum
Published on March 14 2022
Afrik 21
