Masaka Diocese Pastoral Coordinator Fr James Ssendege addresses journalists in Masaka City on September 21, 2022. PHOTO/WILSON KUTAMBA

The Masaka Diocese Pastoral Coordinator Fr James Ssendege has urged teachers to emphasise environmental conservation in every subject for learners.

Fr Ssendege said Ugandan teachers still give learners irrelevant information  like “who discovered the source of River Nile and who was the first European to see mountains in Uganda”  rather than educating the children to be environmentally conscious.

“It’s high time teachers shifted to how to conserve River Nile instead of teaching our children who discovered it. Its existence is threatened by human activities and there is less knowledge on conservation ,” he explained.

Fr Ssendege, the founder of Eco Brixs Uganda, a Masaka-based firm that recycles plastics, was speaking at function where the establishment celebrated five years of collecting plastics in Masaka City on Wednesday.

Mr Andy Bownds, the executive director of Eco- Brixs Uganda, revealed that they have now formed an umbrella organization called Uganda Recyclers Association “to ease coordination of their operations.”

 "We aim to push the idea nationwide," he said adding that "we have already established 50 community plastic collection hubs and enrolled 32 schools in active plastic education programmes.

Over 200 school-going children have benefited from the project in districts of Masaka, Lwengo, Rakai, Bukomansimbi, Sembabule, and Lyatonde.

Eco- Brixs Uganda injects over Sh36 million every month into collecting plastics from communities and part of the money goes to schools.

Ms Josephine Namayanja, the Masaka District Education Officer, informed this publication that in addition to her official job, collecting plastic is her secondary source of income.

"I have been collecting plastics for the last two years and Eco-Brixs has been purchasing it. The money I raise from plastics supports my family," she said.

Eco- Brixs Uganda has already constructed a Shs3b plastic recycling plant aimed at increasing plastic waste collection capacity from 40 tonnes to 100 tonnes monthly.

About Eco- Brixs Uganda factory

The firm's factory space houses new machines which include a melt blown machine that turns PET plastic bottles into fibre, a crusher which makes plastic flake for processing, a 4X extruder machine a plastic lumber space together with a 2X injection moulding machine which creates designs specific to customer needs.

Out of plastic wastes, the factory makes   products such as terminate resistant plastic lumbers which serve similar purpose as wood or concrete poles, dog houses, tables, desks and frames.

Other products include fibre utilised for Covid-19 protection and making of personal protective equipment and interlocking bricks used in building low cost housing units.

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