We all must have studied the concept of waste hierarchy in our school. It was taught so that we would create a sustainable life and yet we still haven’t implemented it in our day-to-day lives. Some of you may be wondering what waste management actually means.
The main is to reduce the amount of waste generated in the environment and to enhance overall waste management processes and programs. The waste hierarchy consists of 3 R’s- namely Reduce, Reuse and Recycle popularly called the “three R’s” of waste management.
“The three R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle – all help to cut down on the amount of waste we throw away. They conserve natural resources, landfill space and energy. Plus, the three R’s save land and money communities must use to dispose of waste in landfills. Siting a new landfill has become difficult and more expensive due to environmental regulations and public opposition.”
They are not really hard to implement. All one needs is to bring a minor change in daily lifestyle in order to reduce waste so that less amount of it goes to the landfill which can reduce your carbon footprint. Even after creating so many awareness drives, people still commit the same mistake of throwing away plastics, waste in an open area. Old tyres usually end up in dump yards and it should be noted that they are full of toxic chemicals and are no use to anyone.
A resourceful craftsman in Nairobi knows exactly how to recycle and reuse things. He knew that people would end up throwing all the waste in the scrap yard and he decided to think out of the box. As soon as he realised that there were full of old tyres in the dump yard, he thought of a brilliant idea that not only changed his life but also created a big change in environment as well.
Watch the video below:
He had discovered value and wealth in converting old tyres into shoes. Yes, you read it right. He had recycled the tyres into new trendy footwear. After seeing his talent, even Germans are absolutely loving them.
It has been learnt that Artisans from Nairobi’s Kariokor market purchased the tyres from scrap yards and then they deftly cut them into sandals which could last five years, attracting several customers from far and wide.
It is worth mentioning here that the trend first took off among East Africans travelling to the market to get their hands on the goods. Now, the Maasai Treads startup is taking the durable footwear to the whole new level, exporting it to the UK and Germany.