Infrastructure development

Even with the right machines and investment, running a plastic recovery and recycling facility can be costly and difficult without the proper infrastructure in place.

Here are some key lessons from our experience.

Electricity

What we have: Three-phase electricity is used to run all of our machines.

Lessons learned

1. Plan for delays in electricity setup

• Getting three-phase electricity took nearly two years due to power company delays.
• Frequent power outages, low voltage, and infrastructure damage (e.g. floods and fallen pylons) reduced our production hours by several hundred since 2023.
• Advice:
  • Plan ahead for long lead times when setting up electricity.
  • Consider solar energy as an alternative power source to reduce reliance on the grid.

2. Ensure your transformer has enough capacity

• Initially, we had no three-phase electricity at our site.
• After installing a transformer, its capacity was too low to run multiple machines at the same time.
• Solution: We added a fuse to increase capacity.
• Advice:
  • Check your transformer’s capacity before installation.
  • Make sure it meets both current and future power needs.

3. Monitor and improve energy efficiency

• We have reduced energy waste by:
  • Choosing energy-efficient machines that fit our budget.
  • Avoiding frequent on-and-off switching during the day.
  • Preventing machines from staying idle too long.
  • Using an automatic voltage switcher to:
    • Detect low voltage.
    • Prevent high resistance that leads to higher electricity bills.

By planning for power supply delays, ensuring the right capacity, and improving efficiency, we have reduced costs and maximised production time.

Water

What we have: Freshwater from a local well is used for drinking, sanitary processes (bathrooms, showers), and for the washing/cooling process.

Lessons learned

Being on an island, we understand the importance of reducing water use. That’s why we recycle all water used in our production facility and collect rainwater to reduce reliance on fresh groundwater.

How to manage water efficiently:

• Recycle water – Treat and reuse water from plastic washing and cooling systems.
• Harvest rainwater – Collect rainwater to supplement water needs and reduce demand on local supplies.
• Invest in storage tanks – Ensure you have enough capacity to store water safely for future use.

By using smart water management, we reduce waste, cut costs, and protect local resources.

Transport networks (road / sea)

What we have: Sandy road networks within Lamu island, and more extensive sea networks between the islands.

Lessons learned

Lamu Island has no cars and no tarmac roads, making transport difficult and limited. Pathways are narrow, only accessible by people and donkeys. Although a geospatial road plan exists, in reality:

• Sandy roads require constant maintenance (e.g. trimming overgrown branches).
• Unregulated building further restricts access to some areas.

Sea transport challenges

• Most cargo boats are small, making large shipments costly and difficult.
• Barges are not commonly used yet (this will change in Q1 2025).
• Transporting heavy equipment is risky – one of our electricity transformers and a crushing machine were nearly lost at sea during delivery.

How to manage transport difficulties

• Map out existing transport networks to plan better routes.
• Stay updated on planned road or sea network improvements.
• Where possible, own your transport to reduce reliance on unpredictable external transport (see Collecting plastics for more on this).

By understanding local transport limitations, we can adapt logistics and reduce delays in our operations.

Land

What we have: Two donated sites (1km apart):

• A 1/8 acre site that houses our production facility and furniture workshop
• A 1 acre site (opened in Q4 2024) that houses our material recovery facility

Lessons learned

Design your facility to maximise space and optimise plastic flow (more on this in the next section).