Former journalist Ategeka turns waste into goldmine

In all major cities and towns across the country, an estimated 700 tonnes of plastic are used every day. If multiplied by 365, you have more than 300,000 tonnes of plastic a year. Such figures were keeping Moses Ategeka uneasy.
“I realised how big this problem is and that it affects everyone of us especially on rainy days,” Ategeka says. So, Ategeka resolved to find a way to make plastic more useful.
As recent as 2009, the East African Community heads of state were planning to put a halt on the production of polythene bags of certain microns for mainly environmental reasons. This is the heartbeat of journalist-turned entrepreneur Ategeka.

Early days
The 39-year-old, who began his career as a radio journalist in Mbarara before cutting his teeth in political reporting, has made plastic recycling his personal mission.
Journalism opened doors for him in public relations where he represented various institutions, including being the spokesperson of the  Association of Ugandans living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), before specialising in environmental issues.
Firsthand experience made him realise there was a big challenge in the disposal of plastic in the country and he decided to formulate a model of gaining wealth from what many regarded as waste.
And it is working
After consultations with friends in South Africa and Europe, he sought partners to join his cause.
In a small workplace in Luzira, a Kampala suburb,  Ategeka started recycling plastics in 2009, before moving to Kabanyolo, Gayaza in Wakiso Districtthree years later where he is now the executive director of a demo plant, PDN plastic.
Years of hard work have scaled him to the role of interim president of the East African Plastic Recycling Association.

The industry
Plastic recycling industries have grown progressively. In 2009, only three plants were active in Uganda and despite their positive role, they could not get rid of all the plastic waste disposed off in the environment. A mere drop in the ocean, you could say.

As President Museveni sought options to emulate the European model of recycling, Ategeka and partners shared the idea that has changed the plastic recycling industry. Uganda’s success story, which has yielded more than 40 recycling industries, is case study for the East African region.
Ategeka’s aim is to see a country with a cleaner environment coupled with thousands of jobs for the youth throughout the recycling chain right from picking to distribution of finished goods.
According to the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a treaty-based international organisation headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, most of the companies are engaged in the recycling of PET, polyethylene (both HDPE and LDPE) and polypropylene (PP). PET is the most recycled plastic in Uganda. Four major companies are involved in turning PET into flake for export to China and India mainly for use in making polyester fabric. The four companies export about 582 metric tonnes in total per month, worth $250,000 (Shs920m).
Companies such as Resintile make roofing tiles from a combination of plastic waste and sand while other informal recyclers often use rudimentary approaches to make products like pavers and blocks from waste plastic waste.

Processing
The first step is to sort the plastic and wash it thoroughly. Then use a plastic digester to shred the plastic into pieces for multiple applications. Another round of washing to remove sand and oil is performed.
At this facility, the pelletised material is mixed with imported materials and the desired colour to make final products.  A wide variety of products including plates, egg trays, shoe soles and an assortment of construction plastic materials, are manufactured from plastic the company buys at Shs600-1,300 a kilo depending on the level of contamination with water, dirt or stones.
Apart from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), the plastic they take comes from all sources including trays, bottle tops, computer cases, old batteries and anything that can melt.
“Most of the plastic we use would have been blocking channels causing flash floods in the city. I find this technology appropriate to urban centres,” Ategeka says. But recycling is an expensive venture with the biggest cost in this sector being equipment acquisition.  For example, an industrial extruder costs more than $100,000 (Shs370m). For such an amount, product manufacturers rather continuously procure for new plastic for their products.

Caring for the environment
The water that cleans the plastic is recycled into the environment after thorough treatment. “Caring for the environment is at the heart of my thinking. The danger is that not so many people see themselves as harming the environment. Yet small daily actions are actually destroying the environment,” Ategeka, who is the president of the Uganda Plastic Manufacturers Association, says.
But the factory had its Covid-19 moments.  During the months that followed the outbreak and the accompanying restrictions, employees had to reside at the factory, while distribution was limited by movement. As production picks up since the restrictions were eased up, Ategeka is hopeful.
He says plastic is a cheaper option for many households that cannot afford melamine, glass and metallic household items. And with the oil refinery starting production, he is optimistic of cheaper raw materials . Yet the environment continues to choke with waste plastic materials.
Ategeka says there are measured achievements by urban authorities to collect garbage, although many people are not yet responding to the invitation to move to a cleaner environment.
He is considering other options. In order to collect more garbage, he works with urban authorities to properly set up garbage bags and waste bins in every corner to ease the work for the collectors. “Waste management is still a challenge,” he explains.
His plans include scaling up production threefold in the next five years and grow the number of jobs in the plastic recycling industry to more than 300,000 jobs from the estimated 60,000.
Parliamentary bid
But Ategeka is not done yet. He is now transitioning into politics to contribute his aspirations of the future to the development of Kira Municipality.
“We can definitely do better with effective representation,” Ategeka, who chose to stand as an Independent candidate, explains.
A graduate of Diplomacy and International Relations from Cavendish University, Ategeka’s introduction to politics came during the race for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA)  where he was among the 40 contestants that lost to Susan Nakawuki.
Ategeka expects to use his experience in business and journalism to gain a national platform on which he says he will build a political base to lobby for better services.
The bigger problem for Ategeka is to squeeze through a politically divided Kira. “Being an independent candidate helps me unlock more doors,” he says.