Recycling plastic isn’t easy – and in most places, it doesn’t pay for itself.
At Flipflopi, we’ve learned that turning plastic waste into something valuable takes more than passion – it takes planning, partnerships, and creative financial thinking. Whether you’re running a not-for-profit (like we are), a social enterprise, or a for-profit business, your financial model will need to reflect the realities around you: how strong (or weak) the local waste system is, how far you are from markets, and what kind of support or subsidies might be available.
We’re building a blended financial model – one that mixes grant funding, subsidies, partnerships, and market income – to help make recycling viable in the Lamu archipelago. In this section of the Flipflopi Toolkit, we share some of the tools and lessons that helped us along the way. They won’t solve every challenge – but they can help you plan better, avoid common pitfalls, and design a recycling business that works for your context.
