In Tunisia, only 4% of plastic is recycled, it accumulates throughout the territory and pollutes nature. The informal recycling economy is nevertheless important, but there are still major challenges to finding solutions to this crisis…
It turns out that plastic is tough despite the efforts of the authorities! A government decree banning the manufacture, distribution and possession of plastic bags was promulgated in Tunisia in 2016, but six years after this ban, plastic bags are still present everywhere in the country. How can we do without them? How can we change our behavior? How can we reduce our plastic consumption? We had the opportunity to lead a conference on the subject with local experts to try to find a solution to the problem. We also met with entrepreneurs who manufacture recycling machines or who organize the collection, sorting, and transformation of plastic waste on-site.
Plastic Odyssey met recycling entrepreneurs in Tunisia. Here are some examples of initiatives encountered during our stopover....
The Plastic Odyssey team is betting on harnessing the power of those whose imagination knows no bounds: children. Discover the drawings by Tunisian children....
The 4th session of the OnBoard Laboratory took place in Bizerte, Tunisia. We welcomed 6 local waste recycling entrepreneurs on board the vessel....
In Tunisia, a government decree banning plastic bags was promulgated in 2016. Six years after the ban, the bags are still present everywhere in the country....
recycling initiatives
From the landfill to the recycling machine manufacturer, Tunisia is full of initiatives that we were able to meet.
awareness and education
We involved Tunisian schoolchildren in “imagining the world of tomorrow” and finding solutions to plastic.
entrepreneurs trained
We welcomed a handful of entrepreneurs on board the ship to work on the valorization of plastic waste.
The Tunisian stopover took place in Bizerte in the north of the country. The December sunshine illuminated these 3 weeks of stopovers, rich in encounters and discoveries.
We faced the case of a written law prohibiting plastic bags on the territory without means deployed for its application. To respond, we organized a round table on the subject, developed our educational program with students in the region, and shared our solutions, aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastic in our daily lives, in the exhibition deployed in the heart of the city.
Regarding recycling, we discovered a dynamic sector, both in terms of recycling machine manufacturing and material transformation. Many companies transform waste into flakes or pellets, then resell them to others who manufacture high-value-added objects, such as basins, pipes, or brooms. However, only 4% of plastic waste is recycled in the country. Accompanying local entrepreneurs in the development of their recycling activity was a great objective, and they were particularly motivated, which offers optimistic prospects for the future.
Bizerte, Tunisia
By Adel Azouni for Radio Misk
On October 1st, 2022, about twenty explorers set sail from Marseille aboard the Plastic Odyssey ship for a 3-year expedition around the world. They are heading towards the coastal regions most affected by plastic pollution.
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