BlogRestorative Justice - Mangroves

END PLASTIC USE THROUGH RECYCLING

By March 21, 2022 7 Comments
Save Lamu has been and always passionate when it comes to matters related to environment at large, we have been engaging on environmental friendly activities such as planting Mangroves along Kililana Sea shores in protecting mother nature, for the present and future generations to come, and on every 5th of June we celebrate World Environment by cleaning our environment along Lamu sea shores to collect plastic wastes disposed at the sea, which at many at times becomes harmful to sea species, creating not a good conducive environment to living things in the sea, and recently we participated on the launch of first Eco-Festival and the FlipFlopi project’s exploratory, science at sea expedition, to end the use of single use plastic through the campaign to end plastic use, this has led to creating the first ever recycled boat using plastic, by the famous Aly Skanda in Lamu County.
The Flipflopi is the world’s first sailing boat made entirely from waste plastic and flip-flops collected from beaches and towns on the Kenyan coast. Flipflopi made global headlines in 2019 when it sailed 500km from Lamu, Kenya to Zanzibar, Tanzania as part of the UNEP Clean Seas initiative, creating international awareness on the impact of plastic pollution and working to
change mindsets and behaviours about plastic waste. Takataka Heroes are a community-led waste recovery organisation based on Lamu Island with the aim of collecting and managing waste plastics that are collected across the Lamu Archipelago.
” We are environment enthusiasts, we strive to protect our environment, as Save Lamu; we have had a series of activities, like planting ceremonial trees along the Lamu Sea front, planting mangrove seedlings along Kililana area site among many other environment activities” said Ishaq Abubakar HJatib Save Lamu vice chairperson during the science at sea expedition event held at the Lamu Mkunguni squre.
Through the project, it has become effectively to address the marine plastic pollution problem and have a better understanding of the extent of the problem, which includes the high and low tides, currents and winds which influence the volume and dispersion of ocean plastic throughout the Lamu archipelago. Lamu is an old swahili town on the coastal strip bordering Somalia on the north, which has maintained its cultural identity since before Kenya gained its independence, including our natural resources where a big number of Lamu residents depends on fishing activities as one of the main economic booster.

The primary objectives of Science at sea expedition are to:
– Determine the quantities of macro plastics accumulating on the beaches throughout the
archipelago as a consequence of the currents;
– Investigate the plastic quantities within the mangrove forests;
– Understand the prime plastic hotspots around the archipelago;
– Investigate the presence of microplastics and microfibers in the ocean.


The collected data will give a holistic overview of the most common types of plastic wastes
their source and how they end up polluting the archipelago and allow us to understand how we can create a holistic management solution in Lamu.

With the big number of unemployed youths in Lamu rising each day with no permanent solution yet, the results will be used to inform potential interventions, including the development of local
closed-loop waste management systems & innovative solutions to promote job creation while
also cleaning up the environment through the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental
Pollution (SMEP) Programme funded by UK Aid.

Speaking with Journalists during the Event, Ali Skander whose the founder of the Flipflopi project said that  “Without any proper waste management systems on the archipelago, our community has been forced to take our own action on plastic pollution. By better understanding the problematic plastics, we can contribute to the action plan for the development of a sustainable waste management system in Lamu. This includes plans for a plastic recovery centre and a plastic boat building centre as well as other valuable products for the local market that will bring new jobs whilst cleaning the environment.”

H e however by added by saying that they are planning to set up a first recycling plant in Lamu Island, and do all the recycling process back at home where they are yet to build a bigger plastic friendly boat that will be 23meters long, which will be able to sail worldwide.


Story| Save Lamu/Khadija Juma

Photo| Save Lamu/Mohamed Okeil

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