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Local Factories: A New Plastic Waste Recycling Unit Installed in Mauritius
A Key Stopover for the Plastic Odyssey Expedition
From April 14 to 26, 2025, the Plastic Odyssey vessel docked in Port Louis for the 32nd stopover of its global expedition against plastic pollution. This stop in Mauritius is part of the scientific and civic mission we are carrying out in partnership with the Indian Ocean Commission (COI) and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), through the Expédition Plastique Océan Indien (ExPLOI) project — a program supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).
This regional campaign aims to unite local actors to co-create practical, local, and sustainable solutions for a plastic-free Indian Ocean.
A Concerning Situation: 75,000 Tons of Plastic Buried Every Year
The urgency is real. Each year, nearly 75,000 tons of plastic waste are landfilled at Mare Chicose, Mauritius’ main waste disposal site. Only 4% of this plastic is currently recycled, while plastic packaging consumption continues to rise. The rest ends up into the environment, threatening lagoons, beaches, and marine ecosystems in this iconic region of the Indian Ocean.
A Micro-Factory to Recycle 500 Tons of Plastic Per Year
A Concrete Solution for a More Sustainable Future
On April 25, 2025, at the foot of the ship, we officially launched Mauritius’ first plastic recycling unit, in partnership with Rogers Group and its hospitality division, Rogers Hospitality. Housed in a repurposed container, this decentralized recycling unit can process up to 500 tons of plastic waste per year. It will transform local plastic waste into useful resources such as construction materials, everyday objects, and technical components.
A Collective and Regional Project
This micro-factory was fully refurbished by Velogic and will be operated in Bel Ombre by Ollivier Mineur and the Waste Management Division. It offers a concrete response to local challenges while paving the way for a brand-new recycling value chain on the island — one that creates skilled green jobs and opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Toward a Network of Local Recycling Units in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean
The installation of this first micro-factory in Mauritius is just the beginning: additional stopovers are planned throughout the region — including Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the Comoros — and discussions are already underway with Rogers Group to replicate the initiative. Through this network of Local Factories, we aim to support the emergence of a circular economy focused on plastic recovery across the Indian Ocean — rooted in regional cooperation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
An Inspiring and Replicable Model
As Philippe Espitalier-NoĂ«l, CEO of Rogers Group, emphasized during the inauguration: “This micro-factory brings together the pillars of our sustainability strategy — Planet, People, Prosperity. It protects our lagoons, creates green jobs, and opens new circular value chains for local entrepreneurs.”
Through this initiative, Plastic Odyssey and its partners demonstrate that it is possible to turn a global problem into a local opportunity.
The Plastic Odyssey Local Factories are inspired by innovations and systems used on the ground around the world. They bring together, in the form of a container, all the machines necessary for the transformation of waste into new material or object.