Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter IN an effort to tackle the plastic waste problem chocking Bulawayo, an enterprising youth, Mr Qinisani Ndlovu (34) of Hillside suburb has invented “Zimbabwe’s first” plastic recycling shredder to crush plastic bottles to produce High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) benches.

Mr Ndlovu has done wonders by making long-lasting HDPE benches out of used plastic. A bench made of HDPE, does not splinter or break and painting or winter storage is needed.

Inspired by One Army, a global movement working on tacking global problems affecting the planet and humanity, Mr Ndlovu built his plastic shredder in three-and-a half months.

With 23 rotors, the plastic shredder, which is powered by a 5kva motor, runs at a speed of 35 rotations per minute and can crush up to 14 bottles per minute. It uses both electricity and solar.

Dubbed the “uMhlaba Shredder”, the plastic shredder was engineered at Mr Ndlovu’s workshop in Thorngrove industrial area in Bulawayo. It was built using locally manufactured steel.

“We started building the shredder in February and it took us three-and-a half months to complete. It runs at a speed of 35 rotations per minute and can shred or crush 14 bottles per minute,” he said.

“We were taking almost three to four hours to produce plastic shreds, but with the shredder we managed to reduce the time to two hours. Part of the team that helped assemble the shredder are into fitting and turning.”

Mr Ndlovu said he is working on coming up with a better solar powered version which produces smaller pieces.

“Most of the plastic shredders in the country have been imported from China. In our case, we used local labour to build this shredder at our workshop in Thorngrove and I am convinced that it is most probably the first of its kind to be made in Zimbabwe,” he said

Mr Ndlovu, a holder of a Bachelor of Science Special Honours Degree in Urban Management Studies from Lupane State University (LSU) and MPhil in Entrepreneurial Leadership (University of Johannesburg), said his entrepreneurial journey started eight years ago.

Mr Ndlovu said after spending seven years in the construction industry and seeing a lot of plastic waste being produced, he decided to come up with a recycling initiative and formed a company, Umhlaba Waste.

“Being part of urban settlement and at the forefront of building structures and seeing how people live in urban planning, it got me thinking that probably one should come up with a recycling initiative. This is how the idea came about and slowly and surely, I began this business of recycling waste,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said last year he did a lot of research having noticed that in Bulawayo people have a tendency of copying and pasting.

He said he dedicated his time researching on plastics and challenges associated with them.

“My post-graduate degree was actually based on waste at Burombo Flats. I then decided to start this initiative. We started formal production this year and have so far recycled 9kg of plastics, which translates to 200 bottles of HDPE since the beginning of the year,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said the idea is premised on his love for education and sports.

“For a start we thought of doing benches and we have made a two-seater polyethylene bench that we call ‘umhlaba eco-bench’. We want to incorporate solar because going green is the way to go,” he said.

“When we first started, we jumped straight into making plastic benches using high density polyethylene which is very light. This is one of two plastic types that can actually be recycled.’

Some of the products that they have made include key holders, home décor furniture and a traveller’s pillow which is stuffed with shavings from (HDPE).

“The two plastic types that we actually require and use are polypropylene and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE). We are getting our waste from residential areas and we want to acknowledge that we haven’t been properly trained in terms of handling waste so we have started by taking waste from nearby homes that we can trust,” said Mr Ndlovu.

“Our ultimate goal to visit other residential areas apart from our neighbourhood in Hillside area. Some of the waste was collected from an automotive garage along Khami Road.’

Mr Ndlovu said the automotive industry is one of high producers of plastic waste in Bulawayo.

“These are some of the problems that we are trying to tackle. Umhlaba Waste has a research arm where we are using GIS for mapping bins around Bulawayo because we need to calculate the distance and understand the behaviour of what we call a waste producer and why people litter,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said GIS mapping allows them to produce a map of recycling centres.

“We need to put this under one roof in terms of information because most people don’t know that these things exist. Through this research we are able to support some of Bulawayo City Council’s initiatives to reduce waste in the city,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu is targeting mobile libraries in rural areas particularly in Matabeleland North.

At the moment, Umhlaba Waste is slowly introducing their products to the people.

“We are also looking at producing outdoor furniture targeting sports clubs. We haven’t really tasted the market but our products are getting a lot of thumbs up from individuals that appreciate the initiative and impact of what we are doing,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said although the company is still in the incubation stage, it is beginning to bear fruits. They are also working on making sporting equipment through the HDPE.

“We also trying to do cones, which are used in football matches and we have seen children using stones. Our plan is to expand the project and upscale this business so that it impacts on lives of many people. We want to decrease the amount of plastic waste that is flowing from our homes to Ngozi Mine. We also want to partner urban councils including BCC which says it wants to be a world class city by 2024,” said Ndlovu. – @mashnets.

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