Improving livelihoods and tackling the plastic waste crisis in Uganda by building homes

Upcycle Africa constructs houses using bottles in place of bricks, the manufacturing of which is environmentally unfriendly due to the use of firewood, causing deforestation and emissions of greenhouse gases. The plastic bottles are collected in the environment, then compacted with soil, making the houses very cost effective to build and affordable to the people.

Upcycle Africa runs constructing projects in different parts of Africa while creating employment opportunities for rural women and youths, securing economic empowerment. The cash incentives allow low-income families to support their children with school fees. The waste recovery system ensures clean and safe environments but also increases the awareness of the people on the harmful effects of disposal of plastic waste.

 

We have changed many things in our business model compared to before when we started the program. The accelerator’s weekly assignments are the greatest contribution towards our project because attending to them has given us a lot of learnings.