Senegal recycling scheme turns trash into benches
Students in Senegal are turning trash into benches, and organisers this new scheme now hope to launch similar projects in Ethiopia, Morocco and Tunisia.
The Senegalese government has launched several initiatives to combat pollution, like banning plastic bags, but they haven't been successful.
The west African nation of Senegal produces about 2 million tonnes of waste annually.
But a new scheme launched at a school just 40 kilometres outside of the capital Dakar may have a different outcome.
The scheme sees tyres first filled with non-biodegradable waste, like plastic bottles or bags. Then dirt and sand are added to help make the base stronger before they're wrapped with a mesh wire and covered in cement.
These are then turned into benches.
"It allowed us to pick up waste and recycle, which is already a first step towards improving the school's environment because all the bags and empty bottles that were lying around were picked up, put inside the tyres, compacted, and that really enabled us to clean the environment around us," says Keur Moussa Secondary School supervisor, Anis Seck.
TRT World's Sarah Jones reports.
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