Plastic waste can be made into ‘useful products’

IT is much better to convert wastes such as plastic bags into other commodities instead of just banning them, an engineer says.
Thompson Benguma, a mechanical engineer specialising in waste-to-energy and biofuel, said converting plastic wastes into synthesis gas, electricity, and biofuel was a better option than totally banning the manufacturing and importation of plastic bags.
Benguma said a win-win solution needed to be looked at instead of making companies lose business.
“Banning the import and manufacturing of plastic bags is merely a band-aid solution,” he said.
“Waste be it plastic or other forms are resources that could be converted into commodity products such as electricity and biofuel.
“Plastic waste is not the only waste generated in the country. Setting up a waste conversion plant is the best and most effective solution to addressing the challenges of municipal and solid wastes in the country.”
Benguma said waste-to-energy plants could be established in the four regions so that all waste products including plastic bags could be converted to electricity, biofuel and other by-products.
He said more than 400,000 tonnes of plastic bags and other plastic wastes in the country could be converted into 200megawatts of electricity or 100 million litres of bio-jet fuel for other use.