Namé Recycling : for a better management of plastic waste

Plastic is very practical: for packaging, for transporting foodstuffs, for containing drinks… However, once used, these plastics pose enormous environmental and health problems. In Cameroon, the company Namé Recycling proposes to recycle plastic waste and to find industrial outlets for it.

Namé Recycling

African cities are flooded with plastic waste. Today, it is estimated that less than 20% of this waste is recycled: the vast majority ends up in landfills, if not in the streets and waterways. Plastic waste is therefore a major source of pollution. However, plastic is a valuable resource that can be recycled to produce new materials.

Namé Recycling offers a solution for plastic waste, operating as a profitable and sustainable business and generating a broad environmental and social impact. The company intervenes from the collection stage with permanent points in the major cities of Cameroon (Douala, Yaoundé, Limbe and Bafoussam). It then transports the waste to its processing units, located in Limbe and Yaoundé, which are equipped with state-of-the-art automated equipment for an efficient recycling process. They recycle different types of plastics (PET, PP, LDPE, HDPE). The entire processing chain at Namé meets international quality standards and once transformed into flakes and pellets, these plastics are sold on the local and international market to be used as raw material in the plastics industry.

Results already visible

Founded in 2016, the company counts among its clients renowned institutions such as the Cameroon breweries, the U.S. Embassy or Camlait.
At the head of this company is the dynamic Roblain Namegni, executive director.
Originally from Cameroon, Roblain studied in Belgium. With a strong expertise in business processes, he was able to set up and manage international factories for major manufacturers in Africa and South America.
He is supported in his task by Thomas Poelmans, a passionate entrepreneur with a strong desire to have a sustainable impact. Thomas is at the origin of several international projects in the field of recycling (electronic waste, cars, plastics) and renewable energies (biomass and hydroelectricity) with the support of international organizations (UNIDO, UNEP).
Alongside them, a team of 35 employees work daily to give a second life to used plastics.

Bringing concrete solutions to environmental and socio-economic issues

For Namé Recycling, the main objective is to reduce the pollution linked to plastic waste. When we know that a plastic bag takes between 100 and 400 years to decompose. And, according to the last studies of the Ellen McArthur foundation, in 30 years if nothing changes, there will be more plastic than fish in the seas. Not to mention the problem posed by plastic microparticles that find their way into the entire food chain. In addition, by improving the management of plastic waste, the company is helping to reduce the risk of diseases such as malaria.

Namé Recycling also tries to answer the problem of unemployment by creating jobs without any discrimination.

On the educational front, Namé conducts awareness-raising activities in schools, households, companies and even on the street in order to change the behavior of plastic users.

As for the future, the company already sees itself as a reference in recycling, sanitation and the circular economy. To this end, it plans to develop a finished product from recycled plastic that can be consumed locally.

Photo credit : Namé Recycling