Plastic Pollution a Cause for Concern in Dzaleka, Malawi

A cry-for-help letter received from one of our volunteers in Malawi:

“My name is Elvis Mushonga and I'm a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development student living in the refugee camp of Dzaleka, Malawi. This camp has a population of over 50,000 people. As you can see in the pictures, I'm standing next to one of the hundreds of single-use plastic litter points in this area. Burning plastics to start charcoal fires is detrimental to animals, soil, birds, and the ozone layer. We need to take action now because it affects human life too.

I'm a volunteer for PlasticBusters Adopt the World Initiative and the founder of Eco Champions project, which focuses on fighting plastic pollution. Our mission is to harvest, trade, and upcycle this trash into useful products like eco bricks. We've been promised a site in the camp, but we need 3,000 USD to build a plastic catch/workshop, create upcycling jobs, and provide protective clothing, safety shoes, and gloves for volunteers.

If you can help us with this cause, please reach out to me at mushongaelvis003@gmail.com and I will be able to provide our detailed budgetary requirements. Thank you for your support in protecting the environment from toxic microplastics and wanton carbon emissions.”

PlasticBusters is an award-wining registered charity with over 4,000 volunteers in more than 100 countries. Would you like to volunteer with us? Please visit our Get Involved site.