Meet the inspirational teenager creating wise solutions for waste plastics in Uganda

Sixteen year old Geraldine is the founder of the Waste Wise project — a grassroots movement led by young people to generate positive change in relation to plastic pollution in Uganda. 

The Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth is confronting the global plastics crisis by collaborating with businesses, academics and community programmes — like Geraldine’s Waste Wise project. Geraldine visited the Institute this summer and told us more about her project and its achievements so far. 

What inspired you to take action against plastic litter?

I live in a town called Kiteezi, home to the biggest landfill in Kampala. My passion for tackling plastic pollution began as I saw the trash in the landfill in my hometown building up over time.

It made me start to consider what I could do in my environment to help with the growing pollution problem. During this time, I wrote an article about the plastic problem — it sounded hopeless, because that’s how it felt at the time. I wondered if anything I could ever do would help decrease the amount of pollution in the world, not to mention in my own town. 

I was thinking too big. I talked to my Mum about it, and we tried to brainstorm a few ideas that were practical and realistic. After a whole lot of discussion with her about the sustainability of recycling, and whether I should recycle plastics or other things, we came up with the idea of focusing on waste plastic bottles. Furthermore, l recalled from my travels shortly after those discussions, l was inspired by a plastic bottle shaped bin I saw at a beach in Switzerland. This is how the Waste Wise project was born.

Tell us more about the Waste Wise Project you set up

The Waste Wise project is led and run by the youth. In its initial steps, l mobilised and engaged my friends from different schools. We decided each of my friends would start up the project in their school by putting a recycle bin in their school and encouraging others to recycle their plastic bottles. We agreed that each of us would work as ambassadors of the Waste Wise project in our different schools and keep in touch with each other about what we were doing and when. My friends are from different schools, namely Mackay Memorial Academy, Gayaza High School, Mengo Senior Secondary School and King’s College Budo.

We had a meeting together and agreed a few objectives, which are:

• Sensitise other youth in our schools about the dangers of plastic waste
• Urge them to use fewer plastics bottles and encourage them to recycle any they have to use
• Practically reuse plastic waste, taking it away from the environment and to give single-use plastic bottles another chance.
   

What is your strategy for reducing plastic waste in schools?

We agreed that each person should:

• Introduce an environmental presence in their school by standing as an environment prefect
• If this post doesn’t exist, request the school administration to start it and then stand for the role
• Engage others in their schools and educate them on the dangers of plastic pollution and the need to recycle plastics in the project bins

This was a success in my school. The post of environmental prefect was initiated, l stood for it and have now served for a full year. I also worked with one of my school friends, who has since put a Waste Wise bin in his home community in Bukoto Brown Flats in Kampala.

In Mackay Memorial Academy, my friend did the same and she is now the environment president of the school. She has also started an environment club and, because of the impact of Waste Wise project under her stewardship, the school has earned a “Green School” status under the Ministry of Education in Uganda.

My mum also helped me to contact a few schools and their headteachers, asking them for permission to bring recycling bins into their schools. As a result, Waste Wise has a recycle bin in Lubiri Secondary School.
 

What are your top achievements so far?

1. The Waste Wise project has bins in five secondary schools and active recycling is happening.
2. We have a waste wise bin in the Bukoto Flats community, which gives the project an opportunity to impact people who are not students.
3. To meet our objective of educating people on how to reuse plastic waste, we have partnered with a skills centre; GBL Upskilling and Mentoring Centre. In April 2024, a reuse camp was held, where plastic bottles were used to make different things like jewellery, chairs, bags and brooms from used plastic bottles.
    

What are the next steps for the project?

Our next step is to construct three structures using our recycled plastic bottles and other materials in December 2024. These include:

• a single room office
• water tank
• sports shed

The Waste Wise project is meeting local engineers, architects and schools to seek advice and support for the proposed structures.

How can others support your efforts?

The GoFundMe fundraiser for the Waste Wise project aims to help us buy building materials, like metal works and cement, as well as to pay contractors who will support the youth with the construction of the different eco-friendly structures, so that we can play our part in saving our planet.

Please donate generously, any little help will go a long way to establish our plan for the eco structures.

Volunteers are very welcome to come to Uganda in December as we embark on this construction project.

Support the project
 

Visiting the Revolution Plastics Institute in Portsmouth 

My mum first saw Revolution Plastics Institute on BBC News in Summer 2023, when they were talking about the Revolution Plastics conference. She shared the news clip with me. I was very inspired by what the research institute was doing so we made contact and had our first visit to the University of Portsmouth.

It always feels like home when I visit the Institute because it gives me a feeling that l am not alone in the pollution fight, and while plastic pollution is a huge mission, there are people out there playing their part as l play mine. 

During my last visit at the University, l got a chance to visit the Centre for Enzyme Innovation laboratories. It was extremely inspiring and motivating. My visit came at such a time when l was expecting my GCSE results and it was amazing to see chemistry and maths applied to real life concepts that help improve our environment. As an A-level student now studying Chemistry as one of my subjects, it was great to know that at some point l might be able to use Chemistry in my fight to preserve the environment.
 

What are your future plans and career aspirations?

I have a passion to play my part to save our planet from plastic pollution and l aim to continue influencing as many friends and young people as l can through Waste Wise to continue the mission to reduce plastic bottle waste. 

In August 2024, the landfill in my town Kiteezi collapsed. Many people were killed or displaced and properties and livelihoods were destroyed. This gives me more drive for Waste Wise to share the need to reduce plastic waste in any way we can.

l would like to become a neuroscientist; however, I am passionate about the environment  and I would like to integrate that in my future career, and positively impact people's lives on a large scale.