Vulnerable families sustain industry with plastic waste

 Around 70 tonnes of plastic waste is acquired monthly by the Marplastico factory of the Marivel group, from individuals and companies in the municipality of Lubango, Huila and Namibe province, who two years ago found a livelihood for their families in the business.

Marplastico is the first plastic products factory in the southern region of the country and is located in the industrial area of Figueira, which initially had its raw material source abroad but now lives on recycling, thanks to this project involving vulnerable families.

In statements to ANGOP, the owner of the company, Floriano Vieira Dias, said that they have a recycling area in the factory that uses all plastic polypropylene material, bringing to them several customers and suppliers, mostly people who collect the product from the streets.

He said they had several suppliers in Lubango, which are not fixed, and they also have a group of women from Namibe, who gather and bring in to sell plastic waste, between 30 and 40 tons.

Vieira Dias stressed that with this base, many families are already able to feed themselves and ensure their livelihoods.

"We are currently receiving 12 to 13 people a day providing plastic waste. We pay 180 to 185 kwanzas per kilogram if it is very good material and if it is what people call rubbish we pay around 120 kz, for doing more work on separation, as it has more costs for the recycling process," he explained.

He detailed that the plastic recycling process, after the purchase of the product, starts with the unloading, goes through a sorting, then goes to the crushing, melting and then the manufacturing machines, a process that takes four to five hours, involving 64 workers, out of a total of 110 employees.