LUSAKA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Charles Tembo, a 37-year-old resident of Lusaka, the Zambian capital, has come up with a way of turning used plastic products like bottles into a venture of making building blocks instead of using quarry.
Even though the dream of making money from his innovation is yet to become a reality, Tembo is not daunted and is determined that he contributes in a way to ensure a clean environment by collecting the used plastic bottles and glasses which he uses to make blocks for the construction industry.
His poor educational background has not stopped him from using his talent and he is determined to use it to change his life and contribute to the development of the nation, especially in ensuring that the country has a clean environment.
He had always dreamt of becoming an engineer and the huge uncollected bottles and glasses made him start thinking of how he can turn them into materials that can be used in block making.
"Looking at the situation in our country, Lusaka to be precise, there is indiscriminate disposal of bottles, glasses and other waste. I want Lusaka to be clean, to be free of bottles and glasses," he said in an interview.
He has since invented a simple machine which he is using to crush the bottles and glasses into smaller particles which are later mixed with cement and used in block making though he is currently doing it on a pilot basis due to challenges.
The current machine, which uses solar energy, is able to crush between one to two tons of bottles and glasses per day though it has a capacity to crush five tons per day if it is powered by electricity.
His goal is to make a machine that will be able to crush bottles and glasses at an industrial level as he plans to expand his idea to benefit all the parts of the country.
"I have a big picture of the machine. I already have the technical drawings of how I want the machine to be but all I need is capital. Everything is already in place and all I need is funding and documentation," he said.
According to him, he has a vision to contribute to job creation through his idea, adding that it is time people, especially young people, started complementing government efforts by coming up with innovative ideas.
His plans to venture into full-scale production have hit a snag as efforts to get permission from the local authority to collect discarded bottles and glasses at a dumping site owned by the local authority has not yet come to fruition.
He said he visited the local authority and briefed them about his idea. He was advised to secure his premises before they can allow him to be collecting the bottles and glasses from the dumpsite.
The country's environment agency has welcomed the initiative, saying any initiative aimed at preserving the environment needs to be supported.
Friday Phiri, acting Corporate Affairs Manager of the Zambia Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA), said an environmental assessment needs to be done to assess the impact of the project on the environment.
He said the environmental assessment will help the innovator to seek solutions to some of the challenges being faced. Enditem
