Plastic Waste Recycling in Namibia and its Associated Benefits

Abstract

Internationally, several types of research have been conducted on plastic waste: forms, sources, composition, possible effects of inappropriate handling and international best practices of recycling. One issue that is still to be made clear and known is how much and how plastic is recycled in Namibia in order to reduce or eliminate the problem of “plastic landscape‟. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to examine plastic recycling in Namibia with a view to providing answers to policymakers, planners, academics and investors on how plastic can be managed. The paper employed an exploratory qualitative approach to provide answers to the research objectives. The research used face to face semi-structured interviews, document search (articles, journals, environmental organizations reports) and site visits. It was found that the spectrum of plastics (polymers) recycled in the country fell into two main categories; soft and hard which were sourced from different points of generation such as households, commercial businesses, industries and others. Plastic is the most widely used recyclable material. It is freely available in shops, but the most challenging material affecting urban environments where large volumes of plastic were generated. It was further found that total recycling of plastic was done according to the recycling symbol complete loop of recycling: collection, processing, manufacturing and subsequent re-sale of produced goods. The study recommends control of the availability of plastic through charges at the point of sale as well as having a buyback centre for recycling if the problem of the plastic landscape‟ is to be addressed.