Seven Comorian entrepreneurs selected to develop waste recycling

The participants will take part in the ExPLOI project for four months, which is intended to help them strengthen their technical skills, structure their activities and develop viable business models. The projects focus in particular on the collection, recycling and processing of plastic waste. The Indian Ocean Commission runs the programme, which is co-financed by the French Development Agency and the French Global Environment Facility.

At the forum held at Com’Work, representatives of public institutions, the private sector and international partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, also discussed the responsibility of producers and importers for managing packaging and end-of-life products. Collection difficulties, transport costs between the islands, the limited size of the market and access to finance are among the obstacles to developing these activities.

The initiative aims both to limit plastic pollution in cities and coastal areas and to encourage the emergence of businesses and jobs in the waste sector. Waste-management needs are also illustrated by waste returning after clean-up operations in Iconi, as reported in a previous article on the situation in Iconi.