In a bold move to combat plastic pollution and foster sustainable practices, SOLIBRA has unveiled its ECO BOX project in Côte d’Ivoire. Launched in Treichville on World Plastic Bag Free Day, the initiative targets the city’s pressing waste management challenges while driving economic opportunities through circular economy principles.
The scale of plastic waste in Treichville has long strained the city’s sanitation infrastructure, with clogged drains and overflowing waste posing persistent threats to public health and urban livability. Recognizing this urgent need, SOLIBRA—partnered with the local J’Adore Foundation and plastic recycling specialist BIRWAST—has rolled out a coordinated strategy to transform plastic debris from liability to resource.
How ECO BOX is reshaping waste management
The project’s core mechanism hinges on a structured waste collection and recycling system designed to intercept plastic waste before it reaches critical drainage points. To jumpstart operations, SOLIBRA equipped local teams with essential tools, including six wheelbarrows, a motorized collection tricycle, 80 refuse bags, twelve rakes, gloves, shovels, and brooms. This equipment will enable efficient, community-driven waste pickup from households and public spaces.
Driving economic and environmental impact
ECO BOX sets ambitious goals: drastically reducing plastic waste in stormwater systems to mitigate flood risks, generating local employment for young residents as collectors and drivers, and converting collected plastics into reusable materials through BIRWAST’s recycling processes. Beyond logistics, the initiative prioritizes behavioral change by deploying outreach teams to educate residents on proper waste sorting and hygiene practices in Treichville.
The launch event celebrated this milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the symbolic handover of the first collection tricycle to a local agent. As the tricycle sets out to traverse Treichville’s streets, it symbolizes a new era of proactive waste management and community stewardship in the fight against plastic pollution.