Recycle Sub-sahara

It is said that it’s possible to reuse/recycle up to 99% of textiles. However, only 24% was recycled or reused in the UK in 2010 and a substantial portion of the rest ended up in landfills in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 80 million kilograms of used clothing were imported into Tanzania from the rest of the world in 2010 alone. This excessive discarding of used clothing has caused a horrific burden on the environment in both the developing and developed world.

There is currently no system for collecting textiles in Tanzania, and like in many other countries, when textiles are no longer wanted the majority is destined for landfills. This results in poor working conditions for waste pickers, long-term greenhouse gas emissions, as well as synthetic materials hampering with water absorption to the soil that collects in stagnant pools, which contributes to the spread of malaria.

Recycle Sub-Sahara is a system to provide better links between textile waste management systems in Tanzania and the UK/Tanzanian textile recycling industry, through better design, collection and sorting processes. The system links the textiles industries of the developed economies with the developing economies, raising potential for foreign direct investment and inward investments to be made contributing to the economic development and more equitable distribution of wealth across the globe.

Recycle Sub-Sahara improves the quality of life for millions of residents of Dar es Salaam – where solid waste management is a pressing issue – by utilizing the informal sector of waste-pickers who currently earn money from collecting recyclable materials at the landfill, and diverting their activities to collection in the local community. This not only improves the pickers’ lives from an environmental perspective, but also adds economic value to the collected materials by discouraging residents from uncontrolled burning of waste clothing.