Plastic waste recycling

Recycling of plastic waste construction materials like interlocking blocks, floor tile and roof tiles

Craft Planet is a waste recycling enterprise operating in Kaduna with the aim of reducing plastic waste in Nigeria by teaching community women, youth and school students the morality of proper waste management and also recycling plastic waste into reusable materials with high market value such as housing construction materials like interlocking blocks for road pavement, floor tile and roof tile.

Craft planet is organizing an incentive based waste collections for communities in Kaduna state where we give incentives like raw food, cooking gas, kerosene, charcoal and study materials to student. This is to encourage and engage the general public as a means of employment; we recycle the plastics waste into reusable materials with high market value.

Our target customers are schools, building contractors, estate managers, LGA.     

Generating revenue, creating employment and sanitizing the environment in the process

We started experiencing flood in my community since when I was 7 years old; we use to vacate the vicinity for a month or 2 during this period and take most of our valuable belonging along. When I got to 15 years old, I started making a research on the course of the problem and I found out that this is due to reckless disposal of waste which has led to blockage of sewers and drainage networks in various communities. My community: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a9OcCcSbDSIb85_Xt7LFTS-K8qjaCsEp/view?usp=sharing

According to National bureau of statistic in waste management; Nigeria generates over 32 million tons of waste per annum.

Plastic waste are non biodegradable which means the country will be over flooded with plastics waste eventually if nothing is being done. My community is already over flooded.

Single-use OF plastic is one of the greatest threats to the environment.

Covid-19 pandemic has also increased the use of plastics; both face masks and hand sanitizer production include the use of plastic.

I was born and brought up in a rural community where women and girls constitute about 70%. I have been working with community women and on plastic waste pollution. Craft planet is tackling hunger in various communities in Kaduna state Nigeria, whereby we have empowered about 3369 of the community women and youth on waste to zero hunger

We partnered with Kaduna state environmental protection authority (KEPA), which they support us with vehicle to transport plastics from various communities. See some of our impact photos here: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/107NEu1xJ2i6vWjtlS0wWctKmJyJSXxv/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LB9f-3-6954rgCXaausaKWn0LgsxFSkb/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10RVFU3UloayKwi3vKvEWSiDGaB38I6FJ/view?usp=sharing

on the effort to educate the masses we choose to do it with community women and youth and schools students  we have reached the total of 73 Schools; 9125 school children taught on how to convert waste like used papers, used cans, scrap tyres and used plastics to art and craft. See our impact photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0riyi4f9knhw8qo/AACBWrx1oKACOp0VMampC_JOa?dl=0

Our solution is helping community women and a means employment; we train 205 women and employed 33 directly as collectors, we pay them daily, weekly and monthly depend on individual choice.

These community women have started making income through the environment, upgrading their lives and inviting nearby communities to join the network.   

I started making research on this issue because it affected by community a lot and, when I got to 15 years old I evacuated about 3713 kilos of plastic from drainage networks and sewers and street.    

My community: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a9OcCcSbDSIb85_Xt7LFTS-K8qjaCsEp/view?usp=sharing

Yes I have volunteer for the Clean-up day in state, Nigeria and I also celebrate world clean-up day in Nigeria where the Kaduna state environmental protection authority supported me in carrying out the activities, also for Africa clean up initiative and various project on waste management in more than 50 schools.

I have engages my coach and mentor in developing the product and we got potential user which was the estate managers to testing the interlocking blocks made from plastics.    

The name of the community is Nariya igabi Local government Kaduna state Nigeria, where we tested our business model: waste to zero hunger; where community women exchange plastic waste for cash, food stuff, cooking gas and study materials to students. After we tested the model, we got women association that wants to partner with us for plastic collection then we decided to organize training for them and we got the total of 205 women and community leaders interfered and the whole community started getting clean because we have created a value to plastic waste.

Some of our testimonies during the development: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jM3AM76fOzSyBsj3NfvyRwpT-11iV_19/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-25Cg0PwQUf37Z9biHuvimUB6hlkEnPR/view?usp=sharing

The model is just for the habit of proper waste management. We produced some interlocking blocks and we done so many test like strength, pressure and durability test. Aolak Building contractors tested it and gave us feedback and we requested for more.

Photo of the prototype: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VuXWHfzid5aELed2o5YKX7QE9x9K-mA4/view?usp=sharing

My technology is both hardware and software, but we started by hardware through designing a sand and plastic extruder machine which is going to melt varieties of sand and plastic together and a customized moulder. And we are also looking at working with general public in waste by having mobile App that will help general public gather their waste or deposit their waste to be ready for pickup.   

The people we currently serve: 313

For the next one year we are looking at 733 with the support from Youth Innovation challenge MIT Solv[ED]. 

Our impact goal for the next one year is to:

• Train and empower about 1000 of the community women
• Reduce the rate of unemployment in the country
• Reduce plastic pollution in various communities
• Generate revenue of about $750,000
• Producing alternative building construction materials
• Cleaning the environment 

We started by keeping records of the number of women and girls and youth we reached by quantitatively keeping/writing out figures. We measure our progress, revenue, team work strength, number of women to be reached weekly by setting key performance indicator. I have a evaluation officer which evaluate every necessary goal in the organization. We created a board we place our indicators and also the use of graph chat concept.   

We are currently facing the challenges extruder machine and building a mobile app that will engage even the ones from urban communities since waste is everywhere in the country we are trying to create the channel. We are as well getting more contract but we lack the key equipment to go for mass production.   

I am the founder and CEO of Craft planet; my passion for creativity drives me unapologetically towards solving economic or social challenges. I am responsible for planning and designs of technologies behind the initiative and I oversee all affairs of the initiative.

Mr Ahmadu Aliyu Ahmadu is the chief operating officer COO whom oversees all production and distribution processes. He is positioned at the center of the organization. He has National Diploma in glass technology and has acquired Bachelors degree in Urban and regional planning at Ahmadu Bello University and various certifications.

Mr Dada Omowumi Fadilat , CBO & Marketing – she oversee all production and distribution (marketing) processes. She reports to the CEO. She studies BA in English Language in Federal university Dutsina Katsina and has acquired various certifications in waste management.

Ms. Amina Abdulazeez, CFO& Research Assistant:  BSc Industrial Chemistry in Kaduna state University.  Responsible for the company's present financial condition, so she decides how to invest the company's money, taking into consideration risk and liquidity. In addition, the CFO oversees the capital structure of the company, determining the best mix of debt, equity, and internal financing.

Mega Recyclers: Making crushed plastic accessible and easy 

Kaduna state environmental protection authority KEPA: Trasnporting our waste collected from the community down to the factory

Maximus recycling solution: Connecting building contrcators and estate managers and potential buyers 

I am Above 18 Years of age, and not a girl.

We are solving the most pressing and environmental challenges which we are started reducing plastic waste in various communities, we are converting plastic waste into reusable materials with high market value, generating revenue, creating employment to community women and sanitizing the environment and contributing to environmental serenity.