Plasco

Plasco is both a plastics collector and recycler that use a mobile app to collect the plastics from the end users and process the collected plastics into school desks.

 It was a sunny Saturday in 2019 when I had fun swimming with friends. After we spent a while, one of my friends whispered. 'who can swim deeper?'. Immediately, I shouted, 'I can swim deeper." After a few seconds, I started swimming more profoundly. Sadly, a few seconds later, a disaster happened. As I got some sand from the bottom of the pond, I started swimming back, but a bowl of plastic immediately covered my neck. I couldn't swim back nor breathe well. I lost consciousness immediately. My body became weaker and weaker as I suffocated from lack of oxygen. At the moment, my life was between the line of death and life.  However, seconds later, some friends swam back, saved me, and rushed me to the hospital. I spent almost a week in that hospital until I felt well. Until today, I suffered from it.  I believe Iam one of the many innocent kids suffering from plastic pollution in Somalia.  

In addition, my country, Somalia, has been a victim of major toxic pollutants as a new state that has come out of a protracted conflict and civil war. According to the World Bank, Only 4 % of all single plastic waste produced has been recycled. About 6 % has been incinerated, while the rest-90 ###b#< has accumulated in landfills, oceans, and the natural environment. Wildlife and marine animals such as fish are becoming intoxicated. Consequently, plastic toxins enter the food chain, threatening human health.

Our solution turns single-use plastic items into wealth. We empower the public to make extra income by being responsible for their plastics wastes. Our mobile application enables everyone, regardless of the location across Somalia, to generate money by properly keeping his/her plastics waste till the company collection or by collecting the plastics waste from the landfill. Our solution, reduce the plastics wastes that end up in landfills or water bodies by empowering more responsible people to generate income from taking care of the plastics wastes. We capture the plastic after use and minimize its environmental effects by turning them into long-term-use valuable items. In addition, we also have a recycling plant that processes the collected single-use plastic wastes into the school desks and indoor and outdoor furniture that is further tracked of their use so that by the time they no longer meet the user's needs, would be transformed into further valuable items in exchange of money to the previous users or by providing the same piece of furniture at half cost. Hence promoting the circular economy.

Our mobile app targets the community of the plastics waste responsible persons ranging from public places cleaners and house waste collectors (individuals and companies) who are empowered to sort the waste so that they can earn extra income out of their effort. Within this segment, more than 70% comprises women and girls who were previously deprived of educational or employment opportunities. We mainly target public place cleaners from suburban areas living on under $2 dollars daily with women and girls above 18-year age, given their particular interests. In addition, our end products target the hospitality industry, educational institutions, and households, by which over 82% of tasks done there from culturally recognized to be the responsibility of women. Hence availing the furniture to them make the women's and girls' work easier

Suleiman Ali is the Chief Operation Officer of Plasco. He is tasked with developing high-quality business strategies and ensuring their alignment with short- and long-term objectives. He graduated from  Earth University in Costa Ric He has worked with several recycling companies, including Eco in Djibouti, and has over three years of waste management experience.

Jimcale Faarah is the Chief Executive Officer.  He implements business operations, establishes policies that promote the company's culture and vision, and oversees the company's operation and the executive's work. He has a computer science degree from the African Leadership university in Rwanda. He worked with EcoPlastic in Rwanda as an app developer, enabling the company to have a web where they sell their products globally. Further, Jicmale worked with Green Venture in Tanzania as the head Marketing officer. He created Green Venture, more than 20 short videos that promote the company's online engagement with its customers by 43%. Jimcaale has over three years of experience in mobile and web app development and waste management.

Hamda  Ahmed is the chief Marketing chief officer. She got her software engineering degree from Ashoka University in India. She has more than two years of experience in the tech field, web, and mobile development. She has worked with several e-commerce companies in Hargeisa, such as the Saamionline market. However, she serves as the head of the marketing team of Plasco. She often creates advertising posts about the products and engages new and old clients and customers.

Nimo Ali is the chief developer of Plasco.  She has a Master's degree in Computer science and has over three years of experience in Web development and mobile app.  She is responsible for the company's mobile development, design, and layout of websites according to the company's specifications.

Our team comprises experienced software developers, experienced web developers, shared database and system administrators, experienced user experience and user interface designers, experienced content writers, and experienced project and product managers. Our team has a collective experience of developing and deploying over 20 applications, with a focus on user experience, scalability, and security. We have extensive experience in developing and deploying applications for the recycling industry. We have also developed several custom applications for our clients, including online portals, web applications, and mobile applications. We have a deep understanding of the recycling industry and the challenges associated with it. Our team understands the technologies and processes required to develop and deploy an online recycling application. We have experience developing applications in the following technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, PHP, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and Postgres. Our team also has a deep understanding of the user experience and user interface design processes and techniques. 

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Initially, we researched the population's demographic information, needs, challenges, and preferences. Secondly, we Engaged in conversations with members of the people to gain further insight into their experiences. Friday, we listened to feedback from local organizations and stakeholders with expertise in the target population. Fourthly, we worked closely with community leaders and advocates to understand the needs and priorities of the people. Fifthly, we participated in relevant events, conferences, and meetings to stay informed of the challenges and conditions of the population. Then we utilized data and analytics to better understand the population's needs and behaviors. Finally, we leveraged social media platforms to connect with and understand the population's needs and created surveys, focus groups, and interviews to gain direct feedback from the people.

Our solution combines digital and physical components to create a comprehensive and effective way to handle plastic recycling. Our app allows users to quickly and easily identify what types of plastic can be recycled and provides a way to track and reward users for their recycling efforts. The solution's physical component involves installing smart bins that use advanced sensing technology to identify the types of plastic deposited and can even reward users for their recycling efforts. This comprehensive solution offers a more efficient and effective way to manage plastic recycling and encourages users to be more mindful and conscious of their plastic consumption.

So far, the company has reached 550 users, where 480 are active today. Three hundred eighty are households, while the rest are the beverage industries such as Hargeisa Cocacola. Also, over 400 tons of single-use plastic and Pet bottles have been transacted on our app, diverting over 2600 Carbon emissions. We plan to reach over  600 users at the end of this year and ensure that our community is fully aware of our application. Those who do not have smartphones can still bring plastics into our office and get rewards based on the number of plastics. We are making everyone involved in this fight against plastic pollution. Further, we trained over 800 primary and secondary school students in environmental sustainability through workshops and seminars across rural areas. Through running workshops across the rural areas of Somalia, we envision educating over 2000 young Somalis about plastic pollution and proper waste management for the next two years. Nevertheless, we aim to improve our mobile application and create features that will enable young kids to understand the importance of recycling and proper waste management. This will allow Somali children to learn about recycling at a young age. We plan to launch this new feature next year to equip with recycling knowledge to train and educate the next Somali generation about recycling and proper waste management. Hence, Plastic Venture aims to create a waste-free environment for Somalis through recycling, training, and education.

Our solution combines a mobile application, a cloud-based data storage system, and an analytics platform. The mobile application allows users to scan barcodes of plastic items, input the type and quantity of plastic items, and track the progress of their recycling efforts. The cloud-based data storage system stores all the scanned information, allowing us to provide users with insights and analytics on their recycling habits. The analytics platform enables us to analyze user data, identify trends, and provide users with personalized recommendations on improving their recycling habits.

 So far,  over 400 tons of single-use plastic and Pet bottles have been transacted on our app, diverting over 2600 Carbon emissions. We plan to reach over  600 users at the end of this year and ensure that our community is fully aware of our application. Those who do not have smartphones can still bring plastics into our office and get rewards based on the number of plastics. We are making everyone involved in this fight against plastic pollution. Further, we trained over 800 primary and secondary school students in environmental sustainability through workshops and seminars across rural areas. Through running workshops across the rural areas of Somalia, we envision educating over 2000 young Somalis about plastic pollution and proper waste management for the next two years. Nevertheless, we aim to improve our mobile application and create features that will enable young kids to understand the importance of recycling and proper waste management.

Collecting waste from every point has been a challenge in further developing and scaling our solution. As people become more aware of our solution and mobile app, they increasingly sign up from different locations, from urban areas to rural communities. As we scale, we would also need to get the wastes from small commercial centers from other rural communities; however, the cost of transport would rise as the distance would increase while the plastics wastes from those areas are of a small quantity compared to that of the big cities. To overcome this challenge, we would set up collection centers that would source the plastics wastes from the local public space cleaners and household waste collectors so that they would be transported to the recycling site in large quantities. Moreover, depending on the amount of waste collected in different close areas, we may open a new plastics recycling branch.

 Partners we already have in place include:

1.  Agruni company Rwanda: the largest solid waste collection and sorting company in east Africa. We have been collaborating with this company to supply us with the plastic waste that we recycle into valuable furniture for schools, homes, hotels, restaurants, and recreational centers. This company plays a vital role in increasing the quantity of the plastics we recycle monthly; we believe that with their support, we would quickly achieve the milestone of 250 tonnes of plastic recycling every month.

2. British council is an essential partner to our company. Previously, it has funded one of our projects which designs a reliable bioplastics packaging solution that heavily reduces people's depence on fossil-fuel-based plastics. It gave us mentorship, funding opportunity, and support in spreading the word about our organization.

With those main partners, we are interested in adding more partners with whom we are committed to the same cause and have mutual benefits. The more partners we get, the more impact we deliver to our community. Regularly, we reach out to potential partners and establish opportunities for learning from each other.

The business model of plastic recycling startups typically includes four primary components: collecting, sorting, reprocessing, and selling.

1. Collecting: Plastic recycling startups typically collect plastic waste from individuals, businesses, and other organizations in Hargeisa, Somalia, via mobile. This includes collecting plastic bottles, bags, containers, and other plastic items.

2. Sorting: Once collected, the plastic waste is sorted into different categories, such as P.E.T., H.D.P.E., LDPE, and other plastic types.

3. Reprocessing: The sorted plastic waste is then reprocessed into pellets or other recyclable plastic materials, which can be used to create new products.

4. Selling: The recycled plastic materials, house furniture, and school desks are then sold to schools, government agencies, and other organizations. The profits from selling recycled plastic materials can be reinvested in the industry. Additionally, the company can provide consulting services to organizations to help them optimize their plastic waste management and improve their sustainability efforts.

We generate revenue by selling the school desk to schools and indoor and outdoor furniture to hospitality industries and households. We provide the client with a customized design that meets their needs. For each school desk we sell, we get a total revenue of $6. We make a total marginal profit of $ 3 for each school desk we sell. Also, we are establishing solid partnerships by Working with partners in the plastic recycling industry can help to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and boost profits. Neverthless, we will charge our customers when using our application.  Currently, numerous families use our app and notify us of their plastics, so we plan to charge them in the future. Finally, we are planning to leverage our technology as it will help us t streamline the plastic recycling process and make it more efficient. Investing in the right technologies can help to reduce costs and increase profits