EXTENSIVE PROJECT REPORT Team: Sara Gottschalk, Enni Huotari, Anna Kintsurashvili, Olga Mäkinen, Bergpob Viriyaroj Mentor: Matias Heino
Sustainable Global Technologies Studio (SGT) | Final Report | 18.05.2018
Launching a community workspace for plastic-reuse innovations at Makerere University
Aalto University | Makerere University | Aalto Global Impact | PBL East Africa
UPPLASTIC KAMPALA
2
3
06
Acknowledge- ments
09
List of Tables and Figures
09
Abbreviations
1
2
PROJECT SUMMARY
BACKGROUND STUDY
11
Project Abstract
2.1 13
Development of Uganda and current issues
2.2 14
Project Frame
2.3 16
Plastic and plastic waste • Properties of Plastic • Plastic waste as a construc- tion material
2.4 18
Ensuring sustainability of the project • Precious Plastic • Other refer- ence projects
4
THE UPPLASTIC KAMPALA PROJECT
OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION
4.1
3.1 22
Objectives • Impact • Outcome • Outputs
3.2 25
Stakeholders • The team • Partners • Indirect beneficiaries Project milestones • Project timeline and activities • Expert Interviews
3.4 38
Resources, budget and communications
3.5 40
Next steps • Proposal • Future scenarios
4.2
3.3 28
44
Critical discussion • Challenges and changes • Key Learn- ings
46
Personal reflections
4.3 49
Final remarks
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND APPENDIX
50
Bibliography
53
Appendices 1: Product context 2: Plastic waste and regulations 3: Precious Plastic 4: Reference Pro- jects 5: Stakeholders 6: Team Aalto’s field trip mood- meter 7: Compression Machine Man- ual 8: UP-PLASTIC event material 9: Risk analysis and manage- ment 10: List of resour- ces 11: Budget 12: Communica- tion plan
CONTENTS
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A big thank you to everyone who made this project possible and participated in it. Thank you to team Makerere with Bruce Nuwagaba, Agnes Atamba, Jessica Nassinde, Joseph Lubandi, Clare Musiimenta, Jaura Mukiibi as well as Dr. Venny Nakazibwe and her whole PBL East Africa team from The College of Engineering, Design, Arts and Technology (CEDAT) at Makerere University for warmly welcoming us, working so closely together and inviting us to dance and experience Uganda in such a special way, right from the start. A special thanks to Matleena Muhonen, Coordinator and teacher at SGT Programme and PBL East Africa Initiative, and to our mentor Matias Heino, both for greatly supporting and motivating us throughout the journey and joining our field trip. We are truly grateful to the team behind the PBL East Africa initiative for bringing this project into being and to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland for making all of this possible through their generous funding. A special thanks to Vilma Hämäläinen, Project Specialist at Aalto Global Impact, and Riina Subra, Aalto Global Impact Senior Manager, who also joined us during our final UP-PLASTIC event at Makerere University in Kampala. A big thank you to Olli Varis for running the Sustainable Global Technologies studio course and to other SGT studio teams for sharing this experience with us. A very special and warm thank you to the wonderful souls behind Fimboo for welcoming us to your workspace and supporting us with great insights as well as crucial parts for our compression machine. We want to also thank the following people for inspiring and working with us during our field trip in Kampala: Ruganzu Bruno, Mathias Tusiime, Kizoto Maria Kazul, Pamela Matovu, Aaron Acuda, Robert Gita, Andrew Wabwire, Babu Talik, Phillip Kasakye, Etwalu Emmanuel Brian and Frank Morris Matovu. Last but not least, we want to thank Mark Rujumba and Dennis Diatel for sharing beautiful photos with us, which they took during the final event and during our Fimboo visit. Without all your contributions this project wouldn’t have succeeded the way it did. Thank you!
6
Photo by Dennis Diatel Photography
7
8
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 Table 2 Table 3
KCCA assessment of citizen’s concerns and their response Plastic properties Resources for the final UP-PLASTIC event
15 17 38
Uganda country map Uganda country statistics Plastic Concrete: Building Bricks made from landfill waste The Cradle-to-Cradle idea Precious Plastic founder Dave Hakkens with one of his plastic recycling machines Figure 6 Sample reference projects from our background study Figure 7 Up-Plastic Kampala project objectives Figure 8 Stakeholder map Figure 9 Stakeholder list Figure 10 Team Aalto’s fieldtrip moodmeter (team average based on daily keywords) Figure 11 Project timeline Figure 12 Fieldtrip Timeline Figure 13 Project output 1: Workshop carried out Figure 14 Project output 2: Plastic recycling workspace established Figure 15 Project output 3: Connection between stakeholders established Figure 16 Additional project output: UP-PLASTIC event Figure 17 Fimboo visit in Entebbe, Uganda - Photo by Dennis Diatel Photoraphy Figure 18 Vantaa Energy waste-to-energy plant in Vantaa, Finland Figure 19 Visiting KCCA’s Kitezi landfill in Kampala, Uganda Figure 20 Communication plan Figure 21 Next steps timeline
13 14 16 18 19
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5
20 23 25 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 37 39 45
ABBREVIATIONS CEDAT College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology KCCA Kampala Capital City Authority LCB unit Low Cost Building unit MAK Makerere University PBL Problem Based Learning SGT Sustainable Global Technololgies UCASDR Uganda community Art skill Development and Recycling (UCASDR)
9
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Up-Plastic Kampala project is part of the three-year Problem Based Learning East Africa initiative, which is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and was brought to life by Aalto Global Impact. PBL East Africa runs for three years from 2017–2020 and brings together multidisciplinary teams from four universities (University of Dar es Salaam, University of Nairobi, Makerere University and Aalto University) to develop sustainable solutions to community challenges. Within this project, our student team from Aalto University collaborated with a student team from The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The aim of the collaboration was to solve a local challenge in Kampala while aiming to support larger scale impact. The project activities took place within a five-month timeframe from January until May 2018. Based on a student competition at Makerere University, the topic for this year‘s project was set by team Makerere‘s winning entry, focussing on addressing underlying environmental and social issues in Uganda, such as youth unemployment and solid waste problems. We concentrated on the latter and in particular plastic waste, as we saw it having the biggest potential in addressing both aforementioned issues. The main aspired outcome was to foster students’ capacities to understand and proactively solve problems, which we aimed to achieve by sharing knowledge and enhancing awareness through workshops, stakeholder collaborations and the development of a plastic recycling workspace at Makerere University. By the end of the two-week field trip, we succeeded in completing our mission of having held a successful life-cycle-assessment workshop, having set up a plastic recycling workspace including a self-built Precious Plastic compression machine, and having established strong connections between important stakeholders. After the field trip, the Makerere student team continued to develop their LCB unit prototypes and team Aalto started the process of initiating their own plastic recycling workspace at Aalto University.
11
BACKGROUND STUDY
Figure 1: Uganda country map
DEVELOPMENT OF UGANDA Uganda has been economically transformed since 1990s, after achieving peace and stability. Since then the country has experienced exponential growth in GDP, population and life expectancy1 (Figure 2, page 14). This growth however, was establish based on a low starting point after crisis, which resulted in rapid development. Current development is underpinned by solid economic fundamentals, including a prudent fiscal policy, responsive private investment, stable prices and a liberal economic environment.2 The Ugandan government approved the Comprehensive National Development Planning Framework (CNDPF) in 2007 as the country’s strategic planning framework. The CNDPF presents a synchronized and holistic approach to development planning intended to deliver long-term development aspirations of the nation.3 Yet, despite the positive development, Uganda remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world, leaving its citizens with many challenges.4
CURRENT ISSUES Even though economic progress and decrease in poverty in Uganda is amongst the highest in East-Africa, unemployment remains a serious
13
Life expectancy at birth, total
Population million, total
62
40M
10M 42
1960
1980
2000
GDP billion (current US$)
1960
1980
2000
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)
25B
55%
5B 20% 1960
1980
2000
1960
1980
2000
Figure 2: Uganda country statistics
challenge in Uganda, especially in the younger demographic group (between 18-30%). The rapid population growth contributes highly to this issue, with three-quarter of the country’s population being aged below 30. It is estimated that 60% of the unemployed in African countries are young people. This issue is more relevant for those who have formal degrees, since most of the degree holders lack the vocational skills needed for the jobs in demand.5 Rapid industrialization and the development of infrastructure and private sector are what government sees as a mean to solve unemployment. High rate of population growth in Uganda supports this development. The government and donors also support entrepreneurial skills training for self-employment generation, which can contribute to solving unemployment. In order to understand the development needs in a scale of the capital city, we looked into the strategic plan from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)6. Table 1 shows the KCCA assessment of citizen’s concerns and their responses.
PROJECT FRAME In fall 2017, the student team from Makerere University won the pitching competition for the PBL East Africa project with their idea of “Recycling Plastic and Steel Waste to Produce Low Cost Sustainable Building units
14
CITIZENS PRIORITY CONCERNS A Safe City Economic City A Well Governed City
A city free from crime, violence, accidents especially from Boda Bodas; where risks from floods are minimized. A city with a vibrant productive sector that can offer employment to the citizens. A city that is effective, caring, corruption-free, where decision-makers manage funds responsibly, respond to current needs and plan for the future.
Decongested City
A city where there is ease of mobility with an efficient transport system and well managed road networks.
Effective Medicate
A city where there is accessibility and reliability of health services.
Green and Planned City A Clean City
A city with well-planned neighborhoods and well-managed green landscapes. A city were waste is properly disposed and well managed and neighborhoods well kept
Table 1: KCCA assessment of citizen’s concerns and their response
(LCB units)”, which laid the foundation for the later collaboration with our student team from Aalto University. With their project proposal, the Makerere team wanted to address local problems in Uganda. They identified the solid waste problem as crucial as rapid urbanization and a high rate of population growth in Kampala have left the city with a vast amount of solid waste, which has however not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in attention by relevant urban authorities. This makes the problem one of the most pressing environmental challenges in Kampala7. The Makerere students aimed to address the issue through development products, which utilize available solid waste as materials. Their LCB units were set out to be modern structural building components produced from plastics (mainly PET), steel slag and sand, with plastic and steel wastes as their focus, since these materials are not naturally degraded and both can be recycled effectively with current technologies, and thus reintroduce them back to use. The resources were mostly collected from the streets of Kampala and informal dumpsites. Utilizing waste for their product and upscaling its production through business development has been another goal by the team, while potentially providing a cheaper alternative of construction units in Uganda, as prices for those have increased equally with urbanization. The team believed that LCB units can address waste problems and eventually employ people at the same time. If LCB units can be commercialized in the future, it would provide job opportunities for Ugandan people. Returning to Table 1, emphasis is put in orange onto the parts which have the potential to be addressed with the students‘ project of “Recycling Plastic and Steel Waste to Produce Low Cost Sustainab-
More on product context in Appendix 1
15
le Building units (LCB units)�. Citizen attachment and feelings of place identity could be evoked by having a systemic approach, such as collecting the waste, sorting it, producing the units and using it in various projects (playground, paving etc.). When we joined team Makerere and their project in January 2018, they had produced one LCB unit prototype. It had been created by melting plastics in a pan at an open fireplace, mixing it with steel chipping and sand, and finally pouring the mixture into a mold.
PLASTIC AND PLASTIC WASTE PROPERTIES OF PLASTIC
More on plastic waste and regulations in Kampala in Appendix 2
For our project background study, we decided to focus only on plastic due to sustainability concerns with the product life cycle when mixing different materials. More about the sustainability aspects can be found from page 19. Plastics are categorized into two categories, thermosetting plastics and thermoplastics, based on their thermological properties8. The properties are defined in Table 2. The important difference for this project is that only thermoplastic can be re-melted. For this reason, we focused solely on thermoplastics.
Figure 3: Plastic Concrete: Building bricks made from landfill waste
16
PLASTIC WASTE AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL There are many projects about using recycled materials like plastic as construction materials or as an element of them. Replacing ordinary construction materials with waste materials can be economically and ecologically feasible9. Increasing prices of clay encourage finding new ways to produce construction materials. One of the common ways to use waste in construction materials is wood-plastic composite, which is partly wood and partly plastic. In other cases, plastic can be used as an aggregate in concrete. However, mixing materials can change the behavior, stability and strength of the end result. Therefore, waste as a construction material still needs further research. Another option for using recycled plastic is to use it without mixing it with any other material. Thermoplastics
Thermosetting plastics
Recycling by melting
Can be remelted, Long polymer chains are bound together with weak bonds which able them to move while melting and take a new shape.
Can’t be remelted, Polymer chains bind together tightly and once they have taken their shape it doesn’t change. They break into elements when heat is high enough
Categories
e.g. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Subcategories: polyurethane (PUR), phenolic resin (PF), epoxy resin (EP)
Purpose of use
PE-LD: Plastic bags PE, PET bottles PP: plastic containers, bottle caps PVC: plumbing pipes PS: dishes Other uses: toys, textiles, household utensils
PF: printed circuit board PUR: foam plastic EP: composite materials, boats Other uses: coatings, insulating materials
Table 2: Plastic properties
17
ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROJECT There were numerous aspects to research in order to make sure that our project is sustainable in multiple dimensions. We focused on sustainable reuse of materials and life cycle thinking especially due to the original topic of team Makerere. We were studying possible long-term risks regarding human and ecological health when reprocessing materials. We also aimed at finding the right balance between environmental, economic and social interests. When realizing the complexity of recycling (and also upcycling) waste materials, we decided to plan a few actions during our work. For example, we wanted to give an inspiring book to each Makerere team member. The book we chose is called Cradle to Cradle10 by author Michael Braungart, who introduces a very different philosophy and practice for manufacturing and Figure 4: The Cradle-to-Cradle idea environmentalism.
PRECIOUS PLASTIC We conducted a more extensive online background study on recycling and creating new value for plastic waste (Figure 6 and Appendix 4), and thereby came across an initiative called Precious Plastic. More on the Precious Plastic Initiative in Appendix 3
18
Precious Plastic began with Dave Hakkens, a designer from The Netherlands, wanting to address the global issue of plastic waste. In 2013, as his graduation project in the Design Academy Eindhoven, he worked on the idea of making plastic recycling safe and affordable for everyone. The thesis project was named “Precious Plastic” and continued long after. In fact, it is still in progress and went through couple of development stages. Currently, it is a platform for sharing knowledge and open source material (drawings, blueprints, information, tutorial videos, etc.). In addition to this, Precious Plastic developed into a global community of like-minded people who want to store and share collective knowledge and skills all over the world. On the website, anyone can register, providing information about their skills, can participate in existing projects or suggest a new project answering the sustainable development goals and needs. Due to the interactive map it is easy to find people in your local area who have skills, knowledge or/and interest to get started, “it is basically a network of people who want to start recycling plastic”, Dave says11.
Figure 5: Precious Plastic founder Dave Hakkens with one of his plastic recycling machines
Sustainability research on the workshop technology of “Precious Plastic” The process of recycling plastic waste is a simple melting, molding and cooling process that emits hazardous fumes and vapors that pose health risks if inhaled. There are industrial source-capture filter machines available from e.g. Sentry Air Systems, Inc. to capture and extract the fumes created. However, these are not used in the small-scale workshops of Precious Plastic. The Precious Plastic community encourages to use good ventilation and wear masks to prevent toxic fumes. Melting one type of plastic at a time at the right melting zone temperature should be safe according to the community. Even though the workshops of “Precious Plastic” are not using advanced equipment to minimize the toxins released with the manufacturing process, our team sees this as an important issue to address, especially considering the viewpoint of our course, Sustainable Global Technologies. As presented above, it is possible to capture and extract the toxic fumes. A possible suggestion to the Precious Plastic team might be for example, to add a “filtering-machine” to the current collection of four machines.
OTHER REFERENCE PROJECTS We looked into many other relevant reference projects and conducted a simple assessment for the most interesting ones regarding our proj-
19
Other reference projects ByBlocks ByBlocks are building units created with a ByFusion Blocker, a recycling machine which super-heats and compresses any category of unsorted plastic trash.
Complete background study on recycling and value of plastic waste and reference projects in Appendix 4
Plasic Bottle Village In Panama, Colon Island a major plastic bottle problem is being addressed by building a plastic bottle village from nprocessed PET waste.
Recycled Park Rotterdam In Rotterdam plastic litter is prevented from entering the sea by building floating parks realized by recycling the plastics into platforms, the project is called Rotterdam floating park.
Figure 6: Sample reference projects from our background study
ect. Due to the original project topic of team Makerere (LCB units), our research focus was narrowed into initiatives, in which plastic waste was reused in the purpose of creating building units (see Appendix 4).
CONCLUSION Sustainability, considered from the economic, social and environmental viewpoints, is certainly not a black and white issue. For example, we might oppose to the general sustainability hazards when melting plastic waste, however, the often occurring alternative of plastic waste being burnt outdoors mixed with different chemicals and materials causes a lot more hazardous effects than the negative side effects of recycling.
20
UP-PLASTIC KAMPALA
3
21
OBJECTIVES The joint project between the student teams from Makerere University and Aalto University called Up-Plastic Kampala was started by bringing everyone onto the same page. We studied team Makerere‘s current project status and conducted background studies on relevant themes, where we stayed in constant contact with each other. The next important step was to create project goals and activities. It was communicated to us that both teams could have different objectives and therefore, the objectives in this section and in Figure 7 are described from team Aalto‘s viewpoint.
IMPACT The problems that were recognized by Makerere students are crucial to the livelihood of Ugandan people, and therefore we planned to align our objectives with the Makerere team. The impacts that we aimed for were addressing the solid waste problem and contributing to youth employment in Uganda.
ADDRESSING SOLID WASTE PROBLEM IN UGANDA Statistics in several studies show that plastics and steel have only a small share in the solid waste stream, consisting of roughly 4% and 2%. We realized that the problem of solid waste in Uganda is larger than plastics and steels12,13. However, plastic is a valuable resource and suitable material for creative product design and reuses. Even though the percentage of plastics in solid waste in Uganda makes up a small portion, its contribution still adds up remarkably to the solid waste problem.
CONTRIBUTION TO YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN UGANDA Unemployment in Uganda is more severe in younger demographics. Without proper market for people with formal degrees, educated individuals often end up unemployed or settle with jobs that do not fully utilize their skills and competencies14. Entrepreneurial projects by Ugandan youth like the LCB unit project are natural approaches to facing the unemployment problem.
OUTCOME Our key outcome aims at local students and fostering their capacities in problem solving, amongst others. It is these students who will be major contributors to the impacts aimed for and we believe that by steady local contribution and proactivity, combined with strong capacities,
22
ACTIVITIES “Cradle to Cradle” book introduced to Makerere students Sustainability co-learning workshop held for Makerere and Aalto student teams
Started to build Precious Plastic machines
Space for plastic recycling workspace located
Stakeholders involved to set up plastic recycling workspace
Stakeholders met together with Makerere students (through Makerere University) “Fimboo Community” in Entebbe visited together with Makerere students
OUTPUTS Output 1: Workshop carried out
Output 2: Plastic recycling workspace established
Output 3: Connection between stakeholders established
OUTCOME
Outcome: Students’ capacities fostered IMPACTS
Impact 1: Addressing solid waste problem in Uganda
Impact 2: Contribution to youth employment in Uganda
Figure 7: Up-Plastic Kampala project objectives
23
problems such as solid waste and youth unemployment an be successfully addressed in the future.
OUTPUTS In this project, we planned to achieve our outcome through three defined outputs.
1) PLASTIC RECYCLING WORKSPACE ESTABLISHED The plastic recycling workspace provides the Makerere student team with technical means to develop their LCB units and can be accessed by any students with interest in plastic recycling. With a proper workstation and machines, Makerere students can operate safely and effectively. Supported by this workspace, Makerere University can furthermore gain knowledge in plastic recycling through experimentation and development of various projects.
2) WORKSHOP CARRIED OUT To provide sustainability knowledge through a sustainability workshop for both student teams was another output that we aimed for. Sustainability is a broad and complex topic that requires extensive and holistic use of tools and studies. As a team with sustainability interests, we have some familiarity with sustainability topics. We worked to improve our knowledge through research, which we then shared with the Makerere team. Workshops are a great way to engage others as they are interactive and allow the students to facilitate their own learning. The knowledge gained through this project improves the capacity of both teams, which can contribute to the objectives in a sustainable way.
3) CONNECTION BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS ESTABLISHED Creating connections between stakeholders is a valuable resource in every project. Through the identification of stakeholders for the project of team Makerere, we were able to contribute to their project development sustainably. The process of establishing connections was a good learning platform for everyone and improved the capacity for creating sustainable change. We proactively sought to support team Makerere in meeting the right stakeholders. Stakeholders within the Makerere community and Precious plastic community were our main focus. Apart from the previously mentioned community, we also established connections to and among Ugandan artists, KCCA and Roofing Ltd.
24
STAKEHOLDERS ARTIST COMMUNITIES Artists communities that work with plastic waste
UCASDR Mathias Tusiime
ECOART UGANDA
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY UP-PLASTIC is part of the Makerere student community, and CEDAT is our main partner.
Ruganzu Bruno
FIMBOO
MAK
A PRECIOUS PLASTIC COMMUNITY
SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND FINE ART
An established partner community of UP-PLASTIC
Provider of space for the plastic recycling workspace
UP-PLASTIC KAMPALA PRECIOUS PLASTIC COMMUNITY UP-PLASTIC is part of the global Precious Plastic initiative
UP-PLASTIC is part of the SGT studio course and the PBL East Africa initiative, fostering collaboration around problem-based learning in East Africa.
Direct collaborators in MAK
MAK
SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM Collaborator for raising plastic waste awareness at Makerere University
KCCA
CEDAT
Network & consultation
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
Roofings Ltd.
Potential stakeholders, Provider with which UP-PLASTIC of steel slag has been in contact with
Engineering Department Collaborator for machine building
Figure 8: Stakeholder map
25
Extensive team and stakeholder description in Appendix 5
The team The team for the Up-Plastic Kampala project consisted of team Aalto and team Makerere (Figure 9, also see Appendix 5 for a detailed introduction of the team), as well as mentors and coordinators from both sides, all under the roof of the PBL East Africa initiative by Aalto Global Impact. We collaboratively worked on this project including activities such as project management and planning, stakeholder involvement, product design and development as well as communications and other activities. Together we aimed to create an example of change on how to improve the local waste problem in Kampala, which could be continued by team Makerere and surrounding community after the official project ended. Partners Besides a great learning experience within this short amount of time, we aimed to create a solid foundation for this project so that it could be continued even after the official part ends. For that we involved important stakeholders from Makerere University, city authorities as well as plastic recycling individuals and communities (see Figure 8) and established strong partnerships. The comprehensive description of all the partners and their impacts can be found in Appendix 5. Indirect beneficiaries Based on the project of recycling plastic and steel waste to produce low cost building units or similar products, driven by team Makerere, many groups can be considered to possibly benefit in the future, if the project is successfully implemented and continued over a longer period of time. As youth unemployment is extremely high in Kampala and Uganda, eventually the LCB unit project by team Makerere could create new jobs if it is turned into a business. This could affect waste pickers as well as unemployed youth. Especially the latter could be trained in recycling techniques and building machines for recycling, for example. Further, as loose waste in the streets in and outside of the Makerere campus, is affecting the health of Ugandan citizens greatly, as well as their general wellbeing. Communities could benefit from a cleaner city, if through the project waste was disposed properly, recycled and reused to produce new products. Also, if the unused material is produced e.g. into Low Cost Building units or pavers, more affordable housing and construction could make life in Kampala easier, at least for some.
26
UP-PLASTIC
MAKERERE
TEAM
UNIVERSITY
www.up-plastic.tumblr.com www.instagram.com/up_plastic
Aalto Team Coordinator
Team
Matleena Mentor
Anna
Matias
Olga
CEDAT The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology https://cedat.mak.ac.ug Beam
Enni
Assoc. Prof. John
Sara
Makerere Team Coordinator
Agnes
Engineer
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Babu
Robinson
Robert
Frank
MAK Sustainability Program
Team
Dr. Venny Mentor
Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bruce
Head of Program
Student
Ms. Pamela
Aaron
Claire
MAK School of Industrial and Fine Art Dean Dr. Robinah
Jaura
Jessica
Joseph
Machine location
Dr. Kizito
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
PRECIOUS PLASTIC COUMMUNITY
Artist Communities
www.preciousplastic.com
Ecoart Uganda Ruganzu Bruno www.facebook.com/ecoartuganda
UCASDR Mathias Tusiime www.tusiimemathias.blogspot.com Precious Plastic is a global community of hundreds of people working toward a solution to plastic pollution.
KCCA Kampala Capital City Authority
FIMBOO - A Precious Plastic community based in Entebbe, Uganda. www.fimboo.com
www.kcca.go.ug
is responsible for the operations of the capital City of Kampala in Uganda.
Roofings Ltd. Leading producer of quality steel products in Uganda. Soren
Benjamin
Liz
Queen
www.roofingsgroup.com
Figure 9: Stakeholder list
27
PROJECT MILESTONES PROJECT TIMELINE AND ACTIVITIES In this section, team Aalto‘s activities and milestones are described chronologically. An overview of the project highlights is shown in Figure 11. In JANUARY, we focused on determining the exact topic of our project. We knew that it would revolve around plastic and plastic recycling but we needed to make it clearer and also specify our actions and goals. Another important activity was to get to know the student team in Kampala, team Makerere. We started out by discussing what we understand by sustainability, we talked about roles in this joint project and how we see the project and what we believe is possible to achieve with it. During our background study, which provided us with deeper insights and a proper foundation for implementing the project, we made one important discovery which paved the path for the months ahead: The Precious Plastic initiative. An important step at the beginning of FEBRUARY was our meeting with Veera Pensala. We had developed rough ideas about our actions in Kampala and what we were going to do, but it was not really clear. Thanks to this meeting we clarified our objectives (see Figure 7, page 23) After more than one month of planning, it was finally time to start working in the field. We spent two weeks in Kampala and learned a lot about waste management in Kampala and in Uganda, discussed about sustainability with various stakeholders and had visits and workshops in and out of Happy/ Motivated
All field trip moodmeters and more information about them can be found in Appendix 6
Unhappy/ Exhausted Sun 11th
Mon 12th
Tue 13th
Wed 14th
Thu 15th
Fri 16th
Sat 17th
Sun 18th
Mon 19th
Tue 20th
Wed 21st
Thu 22nd
Fri 23rd
Figure 10: Team Aalto’s fieldtrip moodmeter (team average based on daily keywords)
28
Project start
· Understanding the topic · Getting to know the team
Jan
Project Doc feedback
Discovering Precious Plastic · A global plastic recycling community with open-source designs of plastic recycling machines
· Meeting with Veera Pensala · Identifying our actions in Kampala
week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6
Kampala fieldwork
Feb
SGT MidReview
· Presenting our fieldtrip experience to SGT studio peers · Hearing from other SGT African teams
· Workshops are carried out · Connection is established between stakeholders · Workspace is established · Plastic recycling event organized
week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10
Mar
week 11 week 12
Important updates from MAK team
week 13
· MAK team updates their prototyping results, using Precious Plastic compression machine
week 14 week 15
Apr Meeting with Tapio Koskinen and Matti Jänkälä Final project presentation · Public presentation of our project during Aalto festival
· Discussing the possibility of Aalto Precious Plastic community
week 16 week 17 week 18
Final report
· Handing in our final project report for the SGT studio course
May Official project end
· The end of the SGT studio 2018
week 19 week 20 week 21
Figure 11: Project timeline
29
Expert presentations
First meeting · Project introduction to Makerere teachers · Campus tour
· Introduction to Kampala city · Plastic handling policy by KCCA · Introduction of MAK Sustainability Program · Plastic recycling art by artist Ruganzu
Mon 12th
Fimboo visit
Tue 13th
· Learning about plastic properties and recycling · Discussion about LCB unit potential
Kampala city tour Workshops day · Team building workshop · Life cycle assessment workshop for LCB units
Wed 14th
Thu 15th
First week wrap up Planning for second week action · Plastic awareness day / event · Developing plastic recycling workspace
Fri 16th
Weekend break
Splitting into 3 teams · Awareness Team · Machine Team · Prototyping Team
2nd week work start
Mon 19th
· Location for plastic recycling workspace established · Each team progresses with their work
Tue 20th
Wed 21st
2nd week work finished · Machine built · Prototyping mold finished · Friday event ready
30
· Each team progresses with their work
Friday event · Awareness event on plastic recycling
Thu 22nd
Fri 23rd Figure 12: Fieldtrip timeline
2nd week work continues
Kampala (Figure 12). In addition to this, we did quite a lot of practical work with building the compression machine, establishing the workspace and organizing our final awareness event. (see Figures 13-16, from page 32) During our trip, we also tracked our team‘s wellbeing and daily state of minds through moodmeters and keywords (see Figure 10 and Appendix 6). After the trip, we took some time to recover from the exciting, but also intense time. In MARCH, we met up to reflect on our experience and learnings from the field trip and considered the next steps ahead. We discussed about required expert meetings and decided to visit Vantaa Energy‘s waste-to-energy plant in Vantaa, Finland. It was a very useful visit and we learned a lot about recycling and waste management in Finland and in Helsinki metropolitan area. On March 19, we also had our Mid Review presentation, in which we presented our project to other teams who went to East Africa. We got some ideas for the final report of the project and also heard how other teams and teachers saw our project. It was a great opportunity for us to reflect on our project by hearing presentations of other teams and their feedback. After the Mid Review we started to actively work on our final report and gathered ideas for that. We divided tasks and discussed about next steps. One idea, next to summarizing our project and learnings in the report, was to create a plastic recycling workspace at Aalto University’s campus in Otaniemi. We agreed to focus on researching possibilities and engage in planning practicalities and clarifying questions such as who is responsible of the space or how do we collect plastic. In APRIL, we continued project report work and everyone had a clearer vision what we should include there. We separated our team into two, some were more focused on working on the report and other deliverables and others were focusing more on the local plastic recycle workspace at Aalto University. The latter team met Tapio Koskinen, Head of Infrastructures for Learning and Research at School of Arts, Design and Architecture and a representative (Matti Jänkälä) from the student association TOKYO, who could become our partner in this workspace. We kept communicating with team Makerere to hear how their project was going and developing. During MAY, we finalized our report as well as other deliverables such as the Media Release. In addition, we wrote an article for the Finnish Circular Economy News about our project. We also introduced our work at the Aalto Sustainability Day on May 18 and held our final presentation during Aalto Festival on May 21. We continued to work with our project plan for the plastic recycling workspace in Otaniemi and started to create Precious Plastic Aalto. We ordered parts for the shredder machine and started building it. Although the SGT studio course finished by the end of May, Precious Plastic Aalto will continue. Find more about our next steps in chapter 4, from page 44.
31
Output 1: Workshop carried out
Introduction of “Cradle to Cradle” book
Sustainability workshop for LCB units
Plastic upcycling workshop with Fimboo
With our project being focused on recycling, we decided to challenge the idea of reuse-reduce-recycle and introduce the “Cradle to Cradle” model to Team Makerere. Therefore, our present for each member of Team Makerere was the book “Cradle to Cradle”. Before sharing the presents, Olga and Anna gave a short presentation about the book and the concept it explains, concentrating on the idea of it being the pioneer in discussions around circular economy. Team Aalto held a sustainability workshop. Two of the members, Olga and Enni, facilitated the workshop while the rest of the team was working with Team Makerere in two groups. The idea of the workshop was to learn about the concept of life cycle assessment and understand especially the life cycle of the LCB unit created by Team Makerere. At the end of the workshop, both teams presented their 4 key insights of each step of the life cycle of the LCB unit and discussed about the different feelings, which this new way of working together brought up. We visited the plastic recycling workspace of Fimboo in Entebbe. They started as an NGO, trying to create a positive impact on society. Later they managed to receive some funding and invested it into creating Precious Plastic machines. The team is working to create a positive impact both in Uganda and Austria. In Uganda, they produce rulers and bags, going to schools and talking with younger generation about the importance of plastic recycling. For Austria, they are producing ski poles to address the unsustainable nature of the rapid skiing culture. After the brief introduction, Benjamin, the local team leader, showed us the workspace and demonstrated the machines (shredder, injection and extrusion) and gave brief information about the importance of separating plastic for the recycling process. Since our team was planning to build the machines, we believe it was a great experience to see them and get a local opinion of how to build them, and how easy it is, for example, to get the parts in Uganda. Later in the afternoon, we had a small workshop organized by Fimboo team members about possible ways of identifying and distinguishing types of plastics. After getting the information about labeling the products and the meaning of each label, we were challenged to use floating properties of plastics to identify the types which were not labeled on the products. To sum up, the visit was very inspirational both for Team Aalto and Team Makerere. It made us think about challenges and possibilities for recycling plastics, as well as the importance of the stories we want to tell by giving new life to waste material and/or the products.
Figure 13: Project output 1: Workshop carried out
32
Output 2: Plastic recycling workspace established
Precious Plastic Compression machine is built
Upcycle plastic workspace provided by MAK Art school
Mould for LCB units is built
We made the decision to only build the Compression machine due to the fact, that both our time and budget was very limited. We had three and a half days to build the Compression machine. The actual machine building process started with getting the parts. We were introduced to Mr. Robert Gitta, an Electrical engineer, through Mr. Robinson. Even though Mr. Robert’s involvement was not planned, we understood that his suggestions would greatly facilitate our process. Thanks to him, we manage to get a couple of crucial parts and proceeded with our machine building; the parts built were an oven and a carjack. After getting the parts, we split into two groups, Anna and Bruce to work with mechanical parts (welding, table, carjack etc.) and Beam and Agnes with electrical parts for the oven. It has to be mentioned that without the global community of Precious Plastic, we would have faced big problems with crucial electronic parts missing. However, Fimboo offered to give us all electronic parts from their unbuilt Compression machine, including the PID controller. Their donation made the machine more reliable and saved some of our budget. With great help of the Makerere University staff we managed to finish the machine by the deadline. Since none of us had experience or skills in welding, this process was done with the help of Babu Talik. This was also the case with electrical wirings; Mr. Edward, an employee of Mr. Robert, was commissioned to do all the wirings. The mold team, after making the drawings and deciding on the size of the mold, joined us in the mechanical engineering workshop where they were guided by Babu Talik. Thanks to the contacts established with the machine team, the mold production process went smooth and was done on time. Building the Compression machine and designing the mold for it in less than five days would not have happened without contributions from the people we met in Uganda. We understand that knowing the right people is essential, always, and it was especially crucial to our machine building process and also our entire project. However, without our ability to seize those opportunities that emerged, we would not have been able to achieve what we did either. We had to embrace constant changes of plans and a lot of improvisations. We had to always consider and reconsider options. Those actions can only happen in a team with good dynamics, and we were fortunate to have a great one. And therefore, we want to thank everyone who believed in us and spared their time to help.
The Compression Machine Manual for the MAK workspace can be found in Appendix 7
Figure 14: Project output 2: Plastic recycling workspace established
33
Output 3: Connection between stakeholders established
Presentations by KCCA, MAK Sustainability Program and Ecoart Uganda attended
Presentation and collaboration with MAK Sustainability Program
Fimboo visit with Makerere students
Presentation and collaboration with Ecoart Uganda artist Ruganzu Bruno
Collaboration with Fimboo
Makerere University staff organized talks and presentations about plastic recycling and sustainability issues in Kampala and in the University. We got the opportunity to hear about the plans for waste management by KCCA (Kampala Capital City Authority). In addition to the City Authority’s plans we got to know about the MAK Sustainability Program. We were further introduced to Ecoart Uganda by the founder Ruganzu, and got further insights and also learned more about the city of Kampala. In addition to official presentations, we had the chance to visit Fimboo, the only Precious Plastic workspace in Uganda. As mentioned above, we had a very fruitful visit and also established a partnership with them. Local students are still exchanging knowledge with them. It is very important to note that Fimboo has the knowledge for plastic recycling but lower resources than Makerere University. On our final event, they were introduced to the mechanical engineers from CEDAT and had long discussions about possibilities to use renewable energy to run the machines. Important to note is that not only did both teams receive a lot of practical information, but that we also established partnerships with Fimboo, Ecoart Uganda and the MAK Sustainability Program. The first collaboration was during the UP-PLASTIC event in Makerere University which will be discussed next.
Figure 15: Project output 3: Connection between stakeholders established
34
Additional Output: UP-PLASTIC event
Poster for the UP-PLASTIC event printed and put up
UP-PLASTIC event organized
Compression machine introduced during the UP-PLASTIC event
With the aim to engage the Makerere community into our project and spread awareness of the potential value and market for plastic waste, we decided to organize an event in front of CEDAT. Everything happened very spontaneously, since we only had four days to prepare, while also aiming to build a machine and create a framework for prototyping during the same week. Next to showcasing and testing the “brand new” and self-built compression machine (which would find its new home at Makerere School of Fine Arts by the end of the day), we had wonderful artists come and create art out of plastic as well as a selection of different plastics prepared to show students and visitors all that is to know about it. The Fimboo team also supported the event with their precious knowledge and wonderful products. Not only were they showcasing their products, but they also got to know Makerere officials and discussed about further collaboration. Team Makerere presented the LCB unit prototypes to a wider public and discussed the potential of plastic as a material. The event was organized under the Makerere Sustainability Program which helped us to spread the word. The members of the Sustainability program came to showcase some recycled products and advertised an event called Go Green Week, which was happening the week after at Makerere University and would focus on sustainability issues. As a final activity, our teams sorted and cut the plastic waste together with visitors. By using the compression machine, we then created a brick out of PET bottles. After the event officially ended, the machine was transported to Makerere School of Fine Arts where it found a home in the newly created Precious Plastic Makerere workspace. During the event many interesting and valuable questions were asked, knowledge was shared, awareness was raised and more importantly, partnerships were established between all the stakeholders.
Access the posters created for the UP-PLASTIC event in Appendix 8
Figure 16: Additional project output: UP-PLASTIC event
35
EXPERT INTERVIEWS We had three expert meetings; two in Uganda and one in Finland. Although our project was focused on plastic waste, we also wanted to understand the bigger picture and how waste management works, both in Finland and in Uganda. Our expert meeting with Fimboo was a highlight and taught us a lot about plastic itself, recycling and upcycling.
Figure 17: Fimboo visit in Entebbe, Uganda - Photo by
Dennis Diatel Photoraphy
FIMBOO Fimboo is a community based organization focused on plastic upcycling, awareness raising and recycling education. They are part of the Precious Plastic community and we found them from their online Precious Plastic map. Initially they created ski poles, but later they extended their products to other things as well, like rulers and further school supplies. With the extension they gathered plenty of knowledge about plastic and properties of plastic and we were happy to visit their workspace and get deeper insights. We learned how to separate different types of plastic and how important that is. Separation was made with water, oil and alcohol, because based on the properties of the plastic they behave differently in different liquids. Different plastics can be used for different purposes and some plastics are easier to re- and upcycle. We learned that recycling PET is really challenging, which made us realize that our plastic bottle recycling system in Finland is a valuable way to deal with this. Moreover, plastics have different melting points and if two types of plastic are melted together, it will have adverse effects to a product. This led us to a nice discussion about the LCB unit project by team Makerere. Fimboo had a lot of questions about how they designed their product and how they are planning to commercialize it, if they want to stay on that track. We learned that answering the right questions can clarify the vision of the project. “Plastic is not just plastic� VANTAA ENERGY Vantaa Energy is an energy company in Finland which has a waste-to-energy plant in Vantaa. It produces energy from mixed waste in a reliable and widely used combustion technology. The plant covers 30% of
36
annual electricity demands and 50% of the annual district heat demand in Vantaa. In Finland, plastic recycling is taking place, but still most of the plastic goes to mixed waste, which is then burnt. The plant receives approximately 340 000 tons of waste per year. Using waste as an energy resource reduces the use of fossil fuels and CO2-emissions, yet it is not an as sustainable solution than recycling the materials. The waste is collected from the metropolitan area of Helsinki and from other parts of southern Finland (Uusimaa).
Figure 18: Vantaa Energy waste-toenergy plant in Vantaa, Finland
We were lucky to see the whole process in the plant and learn about the waste situation in Finland. Thep plant was very well engineered and most of the actions were automated. The plant can only burn mixed waste, so if households put for example big metal pieces to the mixed waste, it can cause emergency situations in the plant. Therefore, recycling is crucial in households also from this perspective. “Burning plastic for energy is not the most sustainable solution but the best at the moment.” KITEZI LANDFILL Another expert meeting in Kampala was a tour at the Kitezi landfill. We had a chance to see this landfill run by KCCA, which will be closed in the near future. Kitezi landfill receives municipal waste of approximately 1500 tons per day from the Kampala area. Most of the waste is biowaste. Municipal waste includes all types of waste produced by public, mostly in households. Kitezi landfill has workers from everywhere, coming in to separate the arriving waste. They pick all the valuable waste and sell it. Valuable waste can be, for example, metals or electronics. Everything else stays in the landfill. “There is valuable waste, but what happens to the waste without value?” Figure 19: Visiting KCCA’s Kitezi landfill in Kampala, Uganda
37
RESOURCES, BUDGET AND COMMUNICATIONS RESOURCES The comprehensive list of resources can be found in Appendix 10
The resources we used during the project are divided into five categories: human resources, resources for research, physical resources, communication resources and facilities. We used slightly different resources in the field trip than while working in Finland. In the second week of our field trip, for example, we divided ourselves into three teams, each of them working with their own topic and resources (see Table 3). Because our project considered problem-based learning, all the participants and their thoughts were important. Technical knowledge was crucial but o was knowledge about Uganda, Kampala and its traditions and different ways of doing. Resources
Human Resources
Mold Team
Lab technicians, coordinators, deans, heads of departments
Actual Equipment
Additional Equipment
Facilities
Others
Steel sheets, sand, steel slag, plastic
Tools for cutting metal, tools forwelding
Space forwelding, storingspace for materials
Drawings
Event Team
Artists, heads of departments, Makerere sustainability team, exhibitors
Paper for posters, tables, chairs, PA-systems, paint, wooden plates
Phones, computers, credit
Event place, space for meetings, placefor preparations (like plastic cutting)
Machine Team
Lab technicians, mechanical engineers, welders, electricians
Oven, metal sheets, steel bars, electronic parts, motor, car jack, drill, bearing, wooden base
Tools for cutting metal, tools for welding, electrical tools
Space for welding, space for machine, space for cutting the pieces, space for electronic work
Drawings
Table 3: Resources for the final UP-PLASTIC event
BUDGET
The complete list of all expenses can be found in Appendix 11
38
Team Aalto was provided with a maximum prototyping, materials and communication budget of 500 Euro by the PBL East Africa initiative. We used 52,91 € for the UP-PLASTIC event organized during our field trip, consisting of travel costs for relevant stakeholders, visual posters and similar. For the compression machine, we spent 150,42 € on parts. Another 150,00 € was used to give one Cradle-to-Cradle book to each student of the Makerere team and provide one copy for the school library. In total, we used 353,33 €. Makerere University contributed an additional amount of 70,40 € (converted) to cover further event costs.
COMMUNICATIONS We were working in a multi-team, multidisciplinary and multicultural project, with a large number of stakeholders. We can’t stress enough how important fluent and open communication is. The map below illustrates our plan and means for communicating with both our internal and external stakeholders. Internal Communication
UP-PLASTIC TEAM
Coordinator
Mentor
Venny
Robinah
MAK Team Bruce Contact person
Access the complete description of our communication plan in Appendix 12
Google Drive
Skype Meetings
Coordinator
Mentor
Matleena
Matias Anna Aalto Team Contact person
Tumblr Blog
Final report
External Stakeholders Figure 20: Communication plan
Media release
External Communication
39
CRITICAL DISCUSSION
A comprehensive risk analysis, management strategies and regarding reflection after the field trip can be found in Appendix 9
Looking back at this five-month projects, we can critically reflect upon our work and draw key learnings from it. Preparing a field trip is always an exciting endeavor, knowing that most likely many things will turn out differently, and so they did. We were extremely lucky as we found quick solutions to most challenges that we faced during the field trip. A few of them will be discussed below.
CHALLENGES AND CHANGES Before the field trip, we had only little time to prepare the excursion and limited opportunity to get to know the student team in Kampala or do proper research about the local environment and possibilities. We made rough plans but knew that we would most likely have to improvise and keep our minds open. Before the trip, for example, we created a extensive list of stakeholders together with team Makerere, from which we would later be able to see which stakeholders fit best to our endeavors. Once we arrived to Kampala and met the teachers and students on day 1, many things quickly fell into place. We were extremely lucky to have Dr. Venny suggest to use the Makerere University community for our project, which immediately made many of the potential stakeholder visits obsolete, which saved us precious time to focus on building the machine for the workspace. In general, Dr. Venny and Matleena were extremely supportive in organizing important stakeholder meetings in and outside of Makerere University, another very lucky line of support. During the field trip, we realized that we were still two separate teams. We were working together but all in all, still had slightly different priorities. Especially in the beginning, team Aalto was more focused on sustainability and creating a community workspace, whereas team Makerere was still keen on developing their LCB units, mixing materials and creating a potential business out of the idea. Throughout the two weeks, both teams converged and understood each other’s viewpoints better. This was possible through open communication and a workshop about it facilitated by Matleena and Matias, important presentations from stakeholders, a sustainability workshop provided by team Aalto, and a visit to Fimboo, a local precious plastic initiative that shared incredibly valuable insights on plastic and how to recycle and work with it. These activities opened both team’s minds and created a common ground for the final field trip goal of creating a Makerere plastic recycling workspace including a compression machine and creating awareness about plastic as a material. Nevertheless, both teams still followed their own project goals, which created an interesting combination of collaboration and yet separate ownerships and responsibilities.
40
The public main communication channel remains the Up-Plastic blog and Instagram for now, created and maintained by team Aalto. Both team’s progress is shown there, which helps everyone to stay in touch and keep each other updated, but it has to be considered how the two different projects will continue to be presented there in the future. Five months of project work is still short, especially with both teams being thousands of miles apart, communication remaining challenging through the distance and both teams having other project work going on. But, five months is not too short to start something that can grow into something bigger, and in that both teams have succeeded to work together and create a movement at Makerere University and for Aalto University it remains to be seen.
KEY LEARNINGS Problem Based Learning The reason for the roof initiative of our project being PBL East Africa truly opened up for us while conducting a sustainability assessment workshop with our local team. After a fruitful joint workshop, one of the participants said: “This is the first time in university I am saying out loud something that I didn’t read from a book.” In Aalto University, we are quite used to problem-based learning methods which encourages students to be proactive, question pre-defined problems and engage in open discussions and collaborative work with students and teachers equally. While working with the Makerere student team and teachers involved, we only slowly grasped what problem-based learning was really about and how used we have been to it at our school. Especially the design students in our team know problem-based learning and constant teamwork since day one. We were quite surprised when such significant differences in the school systems became visible to us. Sustainability We learned that sustainability is very relative. One memorable moment was when our team was concerned about possible toxic fumes and chemicals that might affect children when playing in a playground built from plastic waste while exposed to constant equatorial sunlight. A local stakeholder listened to our explanation with patience and finally said: “I understand your point of view, but for these children, play is more important than health”. This made us realize and remember something that we had heard during one of the field trip preparation workshops, which is that people in different countries, with different circumstances and cultures have different values, needs and priorities. Knowing this fact is one, but implementing it into one’s work and way of
41
working with others is another, something we have learned now first hand. Adding to this and thinking about René Passet’s three-sphere framework from 1979, where he describes sustainability or sustainable development in three dimensions, environment, the economy and society, we noticed that it is of course not that simple, as often one dimension can count much more than another, as shown in our story above. The importance of play is something so deeply rooted in human nature, that it needs to be weighted differently. Playgrounds and football fields, for example, are such an important part of social sustainability, but they might not be as good for the environment as planting trees into that same area. Sustainability it is not just avoiding harmful actions to environment. Instead, it is about making sustainable choices and solutions for everyone and everything, by finding the right balance between all dimensions of sustainability. Domino Effect One of the main learnings we can pass forward to future SGT students is, “If you have an idea and vision, overlook the time frame and other constraints, and take action.” Too much planning tends to steer resources from realizing the plans. Our project was in constant change and letting go of previous plans proved to be crucial. We estimated three key turning points in our project. •• While doing background research on reuse of plastic, one of us started to watch YouTube videos. Surprisingly, this is how we found out about Precious Plastic community. We realized that we shouldn’t aim to reinvent the wheel when such a powerful global plastic recycling community already exists. •• One of our advisors told us: “Make your project sustainable now, or it will not happen.” - right then we decided to address conflicting interests by developing tools and knowledge to continue safely experimenting with plastic waste instead of aiming to create an end product. •• We originally had a plan of establishing a plastic recycling workspace in an informal settlement or a small community. During our first meeting at Makerere University, we were suggested to use the university campus as our community, which turned out to be a great idea both due to wide enthusiasm around the subject as well as existing resources and possible continuity of the project. Power of community We can’t even count how many times our main actions were on the edge of failure, whether it was due to a missing electrical part, unexpected public holiday, power cut or constant time pressure. Every time, someone saved us and we got back on track. We used to call it luck but in fact, it was a perfect embodiment of the power of the community.
42
OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION
4
43
NEXT STEPS After arriving back to Finland, the Up-Plastic team had long discussions about what would be next (see Figure 21). We all agreed that the huge amounts of plastic waste in the world are not just the problem of the Global South, but the issue of global importance. Because of this, we decided to establish a Precious Plastic Aalto workspace at the Otaniemi campus to introduce plastic waste as a valuable material. We initiated meetings with the Test Site for Practical Sustainability first, but since their plans were more of a pop-up nature for the summer, we decided to find support in Aalto Administration. For that reason, with the help of the TOKYO student association, and Matti Jänkälä, we organized the meeting with Tapio Koskinen who is the Head of Infrastructures for Learning and Research in Aalto ARTS. He supported our idea and promised the help to find the location and get the approval. We then started to build the machines and hopefully soon, we will be given the space for the workspace from the administration.
PROPOSAL Team Up-Plastic, who in February 2018 established the plastic recycling workspace Precious Plastic Makerere in Kampala, Uganda, is now planning to open a new workspace, this time in Otaniemi campus of Aalto University, Espoo, Finland. The plan is to build all four Precious Plastic machines and give students of art, design and architecture the possibility to explore plastic as a material. The workspace will be open for all students in Aalto University and in case of necessity can host private individuals to learn more about plastic. The team hopes that not only art, but also technology students will join with the possibility to develop the machines further or propose different solutions to address the same problem.
FUTURE SCENARIOS We believe that the awareness we were able to raise in Uganda and hopefully soon in our own home university, needs to continue also in the future. Therefore, we propose several future scenarios. The scenarios are organized in S, M, L, XL according to their size and the impact they can have. SCENARIO S Precious Plastic Aalto is established where regular workshops are held, to raise awareness about plastic use. In addition to this, special bins for plastics are installed around the campus and the student association TOKYO takes care of the process together with team Up-Plastic. SCENARIO M Precious Plastic Aalto is established and the SGT studio (+ PBL East Afri-
44
Meeting with Tapio Koskinen and Matti Jänkälä · Discussing the possibility of Aalto Precious Plastic community
Final project presentation · Public presentation of our project during Aalto festival
May Shredder Machine
Start building machine in Aalto University · Shredder machine is the first machine that we will build in Finland, using PBL budget
Jun Aug
Injection Machine
Extrusion Machine
Building of other two machines · Start building the other two machines with additional funding
Apply for funding and bring more people on board
Sep ??? Launch Precious Plastic Aalto · Start of Precious Plastic Aalto workspace at orientation week of 2018 academic year
Make sure Precious Plastic Aalto workspace continues to be in use
Figure 21: Next steps timeline
45
ca) continues in Uganda. In addition to the preparatory courses in the autumn, the students who are chosen to travel to Uganda are encouraged to get to know the machines in the workspace and test different products. On the field trip, students then build additional machines for the workspace and/or research what possible products can be produced to benefit the student community in Makerere University. SCENARIO L Precious Plastic Aalto is established and the SGT studio in Uganda continues. In addition to preparatory courses in the autumn semester the students who are chosen to travel to Uganda are encouraged to get to know the machines in the workspace and test different products. The course is also presented to mechanical and electrical engineering students to guarantee the quality outcome during the field trip. Engineering students are encouraged to think how to improve machines before going to the field trip. On the field trip, students start to test their new solutions together with local students. They can work together with the existing Precious Plastic community (in Makerere and Fimboo) to improve the machines and share the findings and achievements after the field trip with plastic recycling enthusiasts. SCENARIO XL Precious Plastic Aalto is established and SGT studio in Uganda continues, this time focusing how to make plastic recycling accessible even in settings with no electricity. Students from Aalto University together with Makerere University work on sustainable, low cost solutions. During the field trip, students get the possibility to implement their solutions in low income community in Uganda.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
“The most rewarding aspect of our project was the chance to devote my time and motivation into establishing something new that involves a lot of uncertainty. What surprised me the most was to see how unexpectedly different people became involved in our project and how their enthusiasm pushed things forward. Maybe the best that the new technologies and globalisation can offer is bringing the like-minded together to take action while spreading the awareness to the extent that soon we will have a “viral global sustainability agenda”. The world will never be ready but aiming to change something towards better serves a fulfilling purpose for most of us.” PUSHING FORWARD - Olga-
46
“Reflecting upon the whole 5-month project, including the field trip to Kampala, I find that I have learned various valuable lessons. Next to the international and interdisciplinary work, especially over a longer period and with another student team in Kampala, the cultural experience and the variety of challenges that we were faced with, I above all learned about the importance of starting small, step by step, and starting at all. I have always felt that a lot more time (than provided by university courses) is needed to make a change. However, through this project I realized that that‘s not the crucial factor. Rather, it is about truly believing that something can be changed, no matter how big, and that others can be activated for that cause. Through relentless motivation and a passionate vision, actions can then be scaled up over time. Within our field trip, despite many obstacles, we managed to complete our missions by proactivity and the surprising help from all sides. This project taught me about sustainability and sustainable development, but it even more taught me about what it means to have a proactive team, caring mentors, a strong community as well as passionate people who believe in something bigger. It inspires me to do more, and be more. Thank you.” - Sara-
KEY LEARNINGS
“Working outside my own “bubble” was the most surprising thing for me in this project, and especially how great project we made despite these different bubbles we are working and living. By bubble, I mean that every person has own personality and story behind, different way to see world, different way to work and different perspectives for learning, sustainability etc. Most of the time we spent time with people who somehow share our bubble but now we had a great chance to extend these bubbles. At least for me it was really eye-opening to realize how accustomed I am to see for example learning in schools or sustainability from my perspective. I am used to Finnish style of teaching and I am used to my own way of learning new things. However, my perspective is not right or wrong, it is just my perspective and different than others have. It is based on the life-experience I have and habits that I am used to. By doing this project I had a chance to add something new to my bubble and it really inspires me to understand more the bubbles other people are living in. -Enni-
47
“Unfamiliarity is the theme that I have recognized throughout this five month project. This is my first project with real implication outside of Architectural practice. The topic of our project is plastic waste, which is a topic that I have no experience working in. Furthermore, the method that our team used to tackles emerged problem was largely different from what I had been accustomed with. Different working style was one of the first challenges I had to address working inside our Aalto team. Collaborating remotely with Makerere team posed as an additional teamwork challenge. In our Kampala field trip, unfamiliarity continued to emerge. Working culture in Makerere was different from other working cultures that I have been experience with. From these challenges presented through unfamiliarity, I have to improvise and be open to new approaches. It is this unfamiliarity that plays a major role in my learning experiences from the project.” TOGETHER - Beam“Working in an unfamiliar setting, with multidisciplinary team I have never worked before and no mechanical engineer to build plastic recycling machines sounded like an impossible mission the day I took the flight to Kampala. However, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that we were strongly welcome in Makerere University and things started to shape very quickly. With the great help of our partners and the whole department of mechanical and electrical engineering the mission impossible was completed and I have to say it brought a great joy to whole Makerere community. And let’s be honest, it was fun to be the only girl in metal workshop, cutting steel bars and welding them with help of the staff. The greatest learning experience I believe was to see that everything can be possible no matter how tight the deadline is and how unrealistically optimistic your plans might be, if you are willing to work as much as possible and collaborate on every level.” - Anna-
48
Photos of Olga and Beam by Mark Rujumba
FINAL REMARKS While the official part of the Up-Plastic Kampala project and the Sustainable Global Technologies Studio course at Aalto University are ending, we can look back at a very exciting and educational time and are able to gratefully celebrate what we were able to accomplish. Despite smaller and bigger challenges, we completed all our objectives and partly even exceeded them. We know that this was only possible by believing in our project, working together with empathy and patience and yet constantly pushing forward, while having been extremely lucky to have collaborated and meet incredible people. The communities, such as at Makerere University and CEDAT, the Precious Plastic network but also Aalto University have made all the difference. Being able to work so closely with another student team in Kampala, and being exposed to the beautiful and colorful culture of Uganda has opened our minds and we hope to continue Up-Plastic in one way or another. It is wonderful to see that team Makerere is now experimenting with their LCB unit prototypes and is making progress each week. Them using the Compression Machine for that makes us incredibly proud as we can conclude that the field trip was a success for everyone and that the project outcomes are not destined to end there, but that more can be build upon them in the future. We hope that they will be able to build the shredder machine to make recycling plastic waste even easier within the Makerere University community. Learning and understanding that issues like plastic waste are a global challenge that everyone has to face and tackle, and hence initiating the Precious Plastic Aalto workspace, will hopefully inspire more students, in and around Aalto, to think about global challenges more and rethink their own behavior and attitude toward nature and how we can live in more alignment with it, instead of continuing to exploit it. We are very thankful for having been part of the SGT studio course including the PBL East Africa initiative in 2018 and are looking forward to further endeavors.
49
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1 About Uganda. (2018). UNDP in Uganda. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from http:// www.ug.undp.org/content/uganda/en/home/countryinfo/ 2 Uganda | Data. (2018). Data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from https://data.worldbank.org/country/uganda 3 CNDPF. (2018). National Planning Authority. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from http://npa.ug/planning-frameworks/cndpf/
4 e.V., T. (2018). Corruption Perceptions Index 2016. www.transparency.org.
Retrieved 16 May 2018, from https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016#table 5 Joseph, M. (2017). Using innovation to disrupt unemployment in Uganda. •. Hiretheyouth.org. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://www.hiretheyouth.org/ index.php/2017/03/28/using-innovation/ 6 Strategic Plan 2014/2015-2018/2019 “Laying the foundation for Kampala City Transformation” KCCA Kampala Capital City Authority. Retrieved 14 January 2018, from https://www.kcca.go.ug/uploads/KCCA_STRATEGI_PLAN_2015-2016.pdf 7 Margaret Banga (2011), Household Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Solid Waste Segregation and Recycling: The Case of Urban Kampala, Zambia Social Science Journal, 2(1) 8 Thermoplastics vs Thermosetting Plastics | Recycled Plastic. (2018). Recycledplastic.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from http://www.recycledplastic.com/ index.html%3Fp=10288.html 9 Chang, L. 2013: Production of bricks from waste materials – A review. Construction and building materials, 47; p.643-655 10 McDonough, W. (2002). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press.
11 Precious Plastic. (2018). Preciousplastic.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://preciousplastic.com/
12 Allan J. Komakech (2014), Characterization of municipal waste in Kampala Uganda, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Volume 64, 2014 Issue 3 13 Bruce Byiers, Laura Rodríguez Takeuchi and Anna Rosengren with Dr Moses Muhwezi, Dickson Turyareeba, Joyce Abaliwano, Bernard Wabukala and Ramathan Ggoobi (2015), Work in progress Productive employment and transformation in Uganda, 14 Mbowa, G. (2018). Youth Unemployment Challenge in Uganda and the Role of Employment Policies in Jobs Creation. [online] Brookings. Available at: https:// www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2014/08/26/youth-unemployment-challenge-in-uganda-and-the-role-of-employment-policies-in-jobs-creation/ [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018].
51
Table 1 Strategic Plan 2014/2015-2018/2019 “Laying the foundation for Kampala City Transformation” KCCA Kampala Capital City Authority. Retrieved 14 January 2018, from https://www.kcca.go.ug/uploads/KCCA_STRATEGI_PLAN_2015-2016.pdf Figure 1 Uganda | Data. (2018). Data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from https://data.worldbank.org/country/uganda Figure 2 About Uganda. (2018). UNDP in Uganda. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from http://www.ug.undp.org/content/uganda/en/home/countryinfo/ Figure 3 Farmer, T., & Farmer, T. (2012). Plastic Concrete: Building Bricks Made From Landfill Waste. Inhabitat.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://inhabitat.com/plastic-concrete-repurposes-landfill-waste-into-building-bricks/ Figure 4 Precious Plastic - at work. (2018). YouTube. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76AFNIxYjUE
52
APPENDICES
53
APPENDIX 1: PRODUCT CONTEXT Team Makerere’s project is framed as a building unit from recycled plastic and metal waste and this contextual research has focused on those topics. The construction industry in Uganda constitutes over 12 % of the gross domestic product and has witnessed a steady growth for the last 20 years.1 Furthermore, since the year 2000 the population of Uganda has grown by more than 50 percent. Population is projected to follow the same trend and the demand for infrastructure and services has to catch up with the growing population. This provides an opportunity for the project to act as a building unit provider. Considering the significant role of construction industry, support from local material providers would be beneficial for the project. The Uganda Manufacturers Association is a business Association representing the industrial sector of Uganda’s economy with membership of over 700 firms from the private and public sectors. In the membership list of UMA there are 52 companies related to construction industry and 11 companies that our project culd relate to (see Table A1).2 BRICKS, CLAY
4
Steel Products
17
Glass
2
Boards
1
Concrete, Cement
8
Service
8
Chemicals
1
PLASTICS
2
Tiles
5
UNSPECIFIED
4
TOTAL
52
TOTAL
11
Table A1: Companies having to do with LCBU
54
APPENDIX 2: PLASTIC WASTE AND REGULATIONS This section is based on findings from The 5th Annual Eastern Africa Waste Management Conference which was held on 23-25th August 2017 in Kampala, Uganda. This conference was organized by National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Sanitation and Environmental Consult Ltd 3 (SEC). Polythene carrier bags first appeared in Uganda in early 1980s, after being introduced by Ugandan traders to the Middle East, Dubai in particular. Already from beginning of 1990s they became a major problem exposed in the environment.4 In 1992 the government agreed to
regulate the production and importation of polythene carrier bags by imposing tax to gradually discourage their production in the country. A limit was set in which both manufacturers and importers were to phase out their operations and revert to production and importation of environmentally friendly packaging materials. In 1993 the government agreed that the ban was desirable but the process should have been done selectively on a phase out approach basis. Unfortunately, this change on ban promoted both import and production of polythene materials, which finally lead to the crisis state the country is experiencing now. In 2009 and 2010, the government enacted the Finance Act, 2009 and The Finance (Permitted Plastic Bags and Other Plastics for Exceptional Use) Regulations of 2010. The Act 2009 prohibits the importation, local manufacture, sale or use of polyethylene bags and materials. The Ban mainly affects plastic carrier bags used for conveyance of goods. The law does not provide for specific microns because the other permitted plastics for exceptional use may vary in micron. However, various factors such as not taking into consideration the needs of different stakeholders affected and dragged the initial implementation process for some time.4 In April 2015, NEMA resumed implementation of the ban under the Finance Act 2009 and it was heavily supported by the public. The cabinet was convinced to uphold the ban and allowed NEMA to continue enforcing. It was stated by Dr. DanieL Babikwa during his presentation on topic “Status of the management of polythene bags in Uganda and policy direction”: “Whereas recycling can be another way to deal with the problem, the current local capacity to recycle is too low to bear meaning results in the near future especially given the poor waste handling practices of Ugandans in general;”4
PLASTIC BAG BAN In 2009 and 2010, the Ugandan government enacted the Finance Act 2009, and The Finance Regulations 2010 (Permitted Plastic Bags and Other Plastics for Exceptional Use). The Finance Act 2009 prohibits the importation, local manufacture, sale or use of polyethylene bags and materials and the Ban mainly affects plastic carrier bags used for conveyance of goods. During the 5th Annual Eastern Africa Waste Management Conference which was held on 23-25th August 2017 in Kampala, Uganda, it was stated by Dr. DanieL Babikwa that “[w]hereas recycling can be another way to deal with the problem, the current local capacity to recycle is too low to bear meaning results in the near future especially given the poor waste handling practices of Ugandans in general;”4
55
We see this as a challenge we can address with our collaborative project with Makerere University to: • • • •
Raise awareness about sorting waste; Giving value to plastic waste; Recycling the waste into building units; Create test design as a showcase for the use of building units.
APPENDIX 3: PRECIOUS PLASTIC Nowadays, only 10 % plastic in the world is recycled, according to Dave Hakkens, Netherlands-based industrial designer, one of the main reason of this is recycling machines being unaffordable for the public and small businesses.5 Wanting to address this issue Dave started working on the idea to make plastic recycling safe and affordable for all as his graduation project in Design Academy in 2013. The project which was started as a thesis work, named “Precious Plastic”, is still in progress and went through couple of development stages. As a first stage (named as V.1) Hakkens made the first recycling machine himself and made all the information (technical drawings, tutorials, etc.) open source to give possibility to others to also build them. He is very critical about “throwing stuff” open source and thinks this is fairly easy to do but to actually make sure that people understand the
Figure A1: Precious Plastic workshop container
56
importance and really want/can do it is a different story. Due to this, Dave started working on version 2 (V.2), to improve his machine. At that time, he won an award and invested whole money in finding and recruiting the machine builders. While machine builders were working on the technical designs, Dave started making the material research to make sure that the machines could be built anywhere in the world. Once all the machines were complete and tested the team wanted to make sure that the information is spread and people really understand it. So they started making instruction videos5 and made all the material open source, collected on the website https://davehakkens.nl/
Figure A2: Precious Plastic machines
Version 3 (V.3) of Dave’s and his team’s work is what we find very crucial in relation to PBL East Africa, Uganda project, which is a collaboration between Aalto University (Helsinki, Finland) and Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda). In this version the design team proposed building DIY workshops. To explain the Version 3 briefly we will go through the steps and as a conclusion provide our opinion how “Precious Plastic” team can be one of the stakeholders for PBL East Africa, Uganda project. Step 1: Online community platform and online map connecting like-minded people to build up the network davehakkens.nl/community | map.preciousplastic.com
The community online platform to store and share collective knowledge, information and skills all over the world was introduced within the design project. On the website anyone can register, providing information
57
about their skills, can participate in existing projects (such as “Precious Plastic” mentioned above) or suggest a new project answering the sustainable development goals and needs. An interactive map was added to the online platform to collect info about skills and interests of people, which can be summarized as a network of people who want to start recycling plastic.6 According to current map data, there are 4 individuals in Kampala, Uganda willing to contribute to plastic recycling projects, 3 of which are locals with design skills and able to build machines, one of them is a Belgian student traveling to Uganda to start plastic recycling project in Summer 2018. Worth mentioning is the plastic recycling workspace “Fair Cycle Workshop” locals set up on principles of “Precious Plastic” in Entebbe.7 (Note: they have written that the workshop is open for visits, we should consider that while planning the trip). Step 2: Pilot Project The first pilot project was to set up a Precious Plastic self sufficient plastic recycling workspace in Kisii town, near Lake Victoria in the North of Kenya in May 2017.8 The project was in partnership with the UN-Habitat and consisted of two weeks to renovate the existing shed and transform it into a workspace with the local community (1 week) and teaching locals how to work with the machines (1 week). The key idea behind the project was to create the workshop together with the residents and train them not only to build but also to use the plastic recycling machines.9 After six months from building the workspace the team went to check and monitor the progress. The findings were pretty impressive. It is important to note that in the blog post explaining the realizations the designers faced on the second field trip the author notes: “... the realization of our näive assumption that leaving a bunch of people with a bunch of machines was going to be enough to create a successful project. We couldn’t be more wrong.”10 In same post they address another issue of misunderstandings and problems of miscommunication within the group of users who could not agree on how to cooperate and work together in peaceful manner.10 “Precious Plastic” in Uganda Fimboo, a Ugandan NGO (Austrian/Ugandan) got funding to build the plastic recycling workspace on principles of “Precious Plastic” in Uganda. They mostly are focusing on smaller products such as skiing and hiking poles and are planning producing bicycle parts soon. It is important to note that they started to build the machines and do some testing in 2017 (somewhere around February). The team brought most of the
58
components from Europe and built the machines on site (Shredder and Injection machine). They are stating that: “It’s really hard to get local resources in Uganda with mould making as one of the most tedious parts.”10 We were lucky to get in touch with them and learn all about their ventures. Possibilities Another thing worth mentioning is the willingness of the design team to collaborate and help other individuals with such type of projects. The following statement from the website illustrates this:
“This knowledge will be shared openly to our community so that if you too are thinking of starting a project in Kenya or another developing country with similar conditions you don’t have to start from zero again but can learn from our experiences, failures, mistakes, assumptions, successes and pivotal tricks.”11 We, team Aalto, have contacted the “Precious Plastic” team explaining our project (the LCB units Team Uganda developed and our willingness to add social value to plastic recycling) and invited them to join our initiative, share knowledge, experiences and “pivotal tricks”. They suggested to list our project on their forum where we can get external help from both the team and like minded individuals with expertise in plastic recycling, as well as gain the recognition to it. It is important to note that the approach of “Precious Plastic” to plastic recycling is not limited to single objects, the design team is constantly exploring and developing different kind of products and they are open for ideas. We believe that having a Makerere University student team with their clear understanding of the local context and the culture can address and in the best case scenario even solve the problems which “Precious Plastic” team came across in Kisii, Kenya. Team Makerere could take ownership and responsibility to run the workspace and act as mediators in case of misunderstandings between the users.
APPENDIX 4: REFERENCE PROJECTS We are introducing more relevant reference projects and for matter of simplicity, we have created a model for quick assessment of interesting cases around the world. Our general criteria for assessing each reference product are: Use of the product: Sustainability aspect:
Special attention to scope Taking into account the whole lifecycle
59
Lifespan of the product: Focus on durability Ease of re-assembling: In components Is it reusable?: How many times and is it recycling, owncycling or upcycling? Aesthetic values: Impact the acceptability
Figure A3: Byfusion
Figure A4: Conceptos Plรกsticos
BYBLOCK byfusion.com
ByBlocks are created with the ByFusion Blocker, a recycling machine which super-heats and compresses any category of unsorted and unwashed plastic trash. Use of the product: Building block Sustainability aspect: Produced by fuel-run machine, no info of toxics treated Lifespan of the product: Long: durable and easy to reuse Ease of re-assembling: Mix of different types of plastic (100%) - hard to separate Is it reusable?: Can be down- or recycled Aesthetic values: Not pleasing but can be painted on
CONCEPTOS PLร STICOS conceptosplasticos.com
Plastic and rubber waste melted together and extruded to the form of stackable bricks. Use of the product:
60
Building block
Sustainability aspect: Possible toxins from plastic and rubber Lifespan of the product: Long: easy to reuse like a lego Ease of re-assembling: Difficult to separate plastic and rubber Is it reusable?: Easy to reuse in the same context, but dead lifecycle Aesthetic values: Pleasing to the eye, resembles a concre te block
Figure A5: Plasic Bottle Village
PLASTIC BOTTLE VILLAGE plasticbottlevillage.com/
A new initiative in finding solutions to the invasion of PET plastic bottles in Colon Island, Panama. Use of the product: Building structure made of plastic bottles and steel frames Sustainability aspect: Great, no processing of plastic involved Lifespan of the product: Unsure Ease of re-assembling: Very easy, seems like a temporary soluti on Is it reusable?: Yes Aesthetic values: Not traditionally beautiful, but interesting
61
Figure A6: Recycled Park Rotterdam
RECYCLED PARK ROTTERDAM recycledpark.com/floatingpark.html
Plastic litter is prevented from entering the sea by building floating parks realized by recycling the plastics to platforms. Use of the product: Sustainability aspect: Lifespan of the product: Ease of re-assembling: Is it reusable?: Aesthetic values:
Floating blocks Great, creates green spaces from waste Long, requires maintenance Blocks are easy to reassemble. Compo nents depend whether plastics are mixed Recyclable Not terrible and plants increase it
RECY-BLOCK materia.nl/material/recy-block
Partition blocks made out of plastic bags. Use of the product: Block, for decoration or sitting element or as wall partitions Sustainability aspect: Good, expect no info on melting toxics Lifespan of the product: Quite long. Ease of re-as sembling: 100% plastic, mostly melted polyethylene but hard to separate if there are different ones Is it reusable?: Yes, can be processed again Aesthetic values: Art value
62
KLP RECYCLED PANELS materia.nl/material/klp-recycled-panels
Produced from recycled, polyolefin plastics, this material has the look of black tarred wood and the lifespan of plastic. Use of the product: Surface structure, panel Sustainability aspect: Long life cycle, production system uncle ar Lifespan of the product: 50 years Ease of re-assembling: Polyolefin plastic, hard to disassemble different ones Is it reusable?: Can be recycled again, easy to work with which make upcycling possible Aesthetic values: Unique, not-plastic-like look, copies the look of timber planks
Figure A7: Recy-Block
Figure A8: KLP Recycled Panels
APPENDIX 5: STAKEHOLDERS Team Aalto Our Team Aalto consists of five Master students: three students of the Creative Sustainability program, where Anna Kintsurashvili and Bergpob Viriyaroj come from the Architecture side, and Olga Mäkinen studies in the Business track. Enni Huotari studies Water and Environmental Engineering and Sara Gottschalk comes from the Collaborative and Industrial Design program. The interdisciplinary way of working in an international setting, as well as the scope of the project inspired the team to think bigger and possibly even approach challenges in a new way. Team Makerere Team Makerere consists of six Bachelor students: Joseph Lubandi, Clare Musimenta, Bruce Nuwagaba and Jessica Nassinde study Con-
63
struction Management, Agnes Atamba is a Civil Engineering student and Jaura Mukiibi studies Industrial and Fine Art. By collaborating internationally in a new learning framework, both student teams learned a number of new soft and hard skills, which will be beneficial for their future work. For team Makerere, being exposed to a different way of learning (Problem Based Learning) and possibly being able to pass on this knowledge to future and fellow students, as well as to the communities of which they are part of, is an important benefit as well. Coordinators and Mentors Matleena Muhonen from Aalto University and Dr. Venny Nakazibwe from Makerere University have supported the project as PBL coordinators. Matias Heino from Aalto University and Robinah Kulabako from Makerere University have been direct mentors to the respective student teams.
PARTNERS Aalto University and Aalto Global Impact The three-year PBL East Africa initiative, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, was brought to life by Aalto Global Impact and as the Sustainable Global Technologies Studio course also runs under Aalto University, these institutions and organizations are direct stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Up-Plastic Kampala project and its results. Makerere University, CEDAT Makerere University is the partner university in the PBL East Africa Uganda project and The College of Engineering, Design, Arts and Technology is the specific collaborator, with the PBL East Africa Uganda coordinator Venny being the deputy principal of CEDAT. The College as well as Venny are important key stakeholders for the project’s success. MAK Art School and MAK Sustainability Program The Makerere School of Fine Arts has been established as a partner especially by providing the space for our workspace in their studio area. The Makerere Sustainability Program had not been known to us before we arrived to the university, but has turned out to have the same goals and visions, working to make the University a more sustainable place with more sustainable practices. Our final Friday event UP-PLASTIC became the warm-up event for their then upcoming GO GREEN WEEK. Both partnerships were and still are essential to the students’ and our project’s progress and success. Precious Plastic and Fimboo The community of Precious Plastic and Dave Hakkens have been an important cornerstone for our project; first, providing the open source
64
material for how to build the machines but also providing access to a worldwide network of recycling enthusiasts. Especially the local partners Fimboo in Entebbe, Uganda, have shared insightful knowledge and unimaginable warmth and hospitality to us. Without them, our objective of completing the compression machine would likely not have been possible. The established communication between Fimboo and CEDAT, as well as the local student team, shall hopefully continue and benefit everyone equally. Artists and communities of Ecoart Uganda and UCSDR Ruganzu from Ecoart Uganda was introduced to us by Dr. Venny. He shared his personal story with us on the second day of our field trip. Since then, he has been a valuable contact who is as passionate about recycling plastic as we are. He joined our final event to showcase how to make art out of plastic waste and inspired the visitors to think further. Similarly, the Uganda Community Art Skills Development and Recycling (UCSDR) initiative and our contact person Mathias, a plastic artist, was also with us throughout our field trip and shared his wide knowledge of how he is enriching the community with his plastic art. Both artists were able to collect contacts and share their work during our final event. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) The Kampala Capital City Authority was identified by team Makerere as a possible partner in accessing plastic waste resources, while being a powerful source for knowledge and one of the most influential actors when it comes to solid waste management in the city. KCCA is the main authoritative organ in Kampala and responsible for activities of social and economic development. A KCCA representative was involved in the project by giving a presentation to the teams. Further collaboration should be established to access advice, guidelines and other information relevant to the project. Also, waste processing sites Kitezi and Dundu are under control of KCCA and might be vital for further developments. Roofings Ltd. Team Makerere early on established a contact with Roofings Ltd. who supplied the team with steel slag, which would be used in their LCB units. The partnership has remained throughout the complete project timeline. The company was visited several times, before and during the field trip and thus marks an important stakeholder, especially for team Makerere’s prototyping.
65
TEAM AALTO ANNA is a Creative Sustainability Master’s student in Architecture at Aalto University. Originally coming from Georgia (the country, not the State) she finished her thesis about transformation of Soviet sleeping district - Microrayon - and graduated from Kaunas University of Technology in 2016. Before joining Aalto University, she has been working as a junior architect in JDWA, an architecture office based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, focusing on urban and architectural transformation projects and social housing. Within the Up-plastic Kampala project she is supporting the team both with her architectural skills and knowledge of participatory methods of design. She is especially interested in the multidisciplinary approach to problem solving and design as a tool for collaboration.
BEAM, or full name Bergpob Viriyaroj, is an architect from Thailand. He has been studying in Creative Sustainability in Architecture programme at Aalto University since 2016. Formerly, Beam graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. Prior to his studies at Aalto University, he has been working in building design for 6 years, in real estate projects and private housing in Thailand. His parents are managers of a plastic packaging factory, which gives him basic knowledge in plastics. Apart from architecture he is interested in science, films, animals and metal music. Beam supports the Up-Plastic project in strategic planning and visual communication. He is interested in hands-on approach and contribution to larger scale impacts.
66
OLGA is a Creative Sustainability Master’s student in Aalto University. She started her studies in Aalto University in 2013, with a Bachelor’s degree from Business Technology. She is trained and experienced with business operations and information management and more recently she has been involved in various NGO projects. Olga is passionate about exploring alternative ways of living and organizing society while questioning how we understand the quality of life. She loves to spend her spare time with boards; snowboarding, surfing and longboarding. Within the Up-plastic Kampala project she is supporting the team by ensuring that the project is sustainable in all dimensions and she is especially interested in community involvement and the development of the project in the longer run.
SARA is currently studying her Master of Arts in Collaborative and Industrial Design at Aalto University and has a German Bachelor’s degree in Digital Media. She is trained and experienced in human centered design as well as in management and technology related topics. If asked, her biggest passion is to study and understand human nature and the human mind as well as finding touchpoints for intervention to efficiently improve people’s (emotional) well-being. In the future she strives to become more of a strategic designer, some type of coach, or an established artist, or none or all of the just mentioned. Sara also likes to hug trees, get up early to greet the sun and find humor in the paradoxes of life. Within the Up-plastic Kampala project she supports the team with project management, design and communication matters and is especially interested in capacity building and team dynamics.
67
ENNI is studying Water and Environmental engineering in Aalto University and soon a Master of Science in biology from University of Eastern Finland. She is trained and experienced in environment biology and pedagogy and more recently focused on ecotoxicology and topics related to sustainability in water management. Enni is passionate about exploring and understanding people’s relationship with environment and nature. She loves to spend time in the forests, just walking or picking berries and enjoying the fresh air and sounds of nature. Within the Up-plastic Kampala projects she supports the group with life-cycle aspects and with her knowledge of pedagogy. She is especially interested in creating awareness about sustainability and using sustainability thinking as a resource.
TEAM MAKERERE CLARE is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelors degree in Construction Management at Makerere University. She has formerly volunteered with The AIDS support organization and the DREAMS project to asses community needs for development and stability in Uganda, and currently serves as the on campass project coordinator for the association of construction managers. Clare loves traveling, meeting new people and sharing their perspectives on life in different societies. Within the Up-plastic Kampala project, she supports the prototyping team majorly testing and analyzing the product’s suitability in the community and the environment. Her interest lies in seeing a cleaner, waste-free environment which is influenced by the construction industry.
68
BRUCE is a 3rd year student at Makerere University soon graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Construction Management in 2019. With extreme interests in Engineering and design, he has worked on quite number of projects including concept development at Kiira Motors Corporation, a car manufacturing company in Uganda. He is a tech enthusiast and is passionate about exploring many opinions on which technology can be embedded into projects sustainably. From this experience, he learned the value of hard & team work, efficiency, and communication. Following the fields of study, Bruce is good at cost engineering, design, management and documentation. When he is not in class, he is surfing, designing websites and executing other freelance jobs. Within the Up-plastic Project Kampala Bruce juggles between planning and documentation and in-depth research on the project sustainability.
JESSICA is a student at Makerere University offering a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management. She is curretly the president of Makerere Association of Construction Management students (MAC), an association that brings together all the students studying Construction Management in Makerere University. Jessica is passionate about innovations and she has been involved in a number of innovative projects at Makerere University, one of which was ranked fourth in the whole country in 2017. She is also passionate about landscaping and gardening. She supports the Up-plastic project in creating awareness of the project to the community and also ensuring that the project is innovative in all aspects.
69
JOSEPH is currently pursuing his
Bachelors of Science in Construction Management at Makerere University. He is enthusiastic about building engineering. Joseph has recently participated in projects that are driven by use of innovation as a means to solve society’s challenges. Besides his interest in the built environment, Joseph is fascinated by technology, working with computers in particular, and spends some of his free time creating websites, mobile apps and graphics designs. Joseph has experience in planning, developing and maintaining internet products from the ground up. As a member of the Up-plastic Kampala project, Joseph is interested in ensuring quality and safety of the end products. He is also keen on exploring the various possible applications of plastic and steel waste as construction materials.
JAURA is studying a Bachelors of
Industrial and Fine Art at Makerere University. He is good at Graphics and Logo Design where he has won a couple of awards in National Design competitions. His passion is to be able to communicate and send messages to the public through vectors and illustrations by creating art in relation to everyday life so that people can relate. Within the Up-plastic Kampala project he supports the team in design and communication.
70
AGNES is a third year student of civil engineering at Makerere University and passionate about working with other people, learning and exploring new things. Under the Up-plastic Kampala project, Aggie is responsible for quality control and the scientific practical aspects of the final product as well as ensuring that the product suits the standards by developing sustainable machines
APPENDIX 6: TEAM AALTO’S FIELDTRIP MOOD METER During the field trip in Kampala, team Aalto kept track of their personal state of minds through a daily mood meter as well as by collecting and sharing personal keywords with each other by the end of each day. Mood Meter The team decided on the axes of the mood meter coordinate system on day one and then in the following days, each team member individually set their dots in the system. After the field trip, we combined all these dots and created the graph which you can be seen in Figure A10. It is interesting that indeed one can draw a variety of conclusions about the team‘s experience and state of minds by merely looking at the mood meter. Keyword mood meter After the field trip, the team got together to analyze all the keywords that were collected and categorize them. Each day during the field trip, everyone had written down one keyword that described their day and experience. Each night, the top Figure A9: Categorized keywords
71
two to three keywords were determined, which would sometimes provide the direction for blog entries. After the field trip, the keywords were categorized (see Figure A9) and a general average was created, which can be seen from Figure 10, page 28. Once again, it is interesting how this graph shows the general state of minds of the students and how it can be directly connected to the days‘ events. Enthusiastic
Productive
4
2
1
2
1
1
1
3
6
4
1
6
2
1
4
1
1
2 2
3
1 2 2
1
Stagnated
1 1 1
1 Frustrated
Enthusiastic
Frustrated
Mon 12th
Tue 13th
Wed 14th
Thu 15th
Fri 16th
Sat 17th
Sun 18th
Mon 19th
Tue 20th
Wed 21st
Thu 22nd
Fri 23rd
Mon 12th
Tue 13th
Wed 14th
Thu 15th
Fri 16th
Sat 17th
Sun 18th
Mon 19th
Tue 20th
Wed 21st
Thu 22nd
Fri 23rd
Productive
Stagnated
Figure A10: Team Aalto’s mood meter
72
APPENDIX 7: COMPRESSION MACHINE MANUAL FOR PRECIOUS PLASTIC MAKERERE WORKSPACE
Precious Plastic
Compression Machine by up-plastic https://up-plastic.tumblr.com https://www.instagram.com/up_plastic
Control Box
Oven
Pressing Stand
Figure A11-1: Compression Machine manual page 1/3 for Makerere workspace (size A4)
73
Manual 1) Decide on the product • Deciding on the product is the first step of the process. • The Precious Plastic website provides sample products that are compatible with this machine: https://preciousplastic.com/en/creations.html
2) Make the mould Mould cover
• The mould can be made of various material; e.g. steel, cement or clay. • The mould cover is used for compressing the product, making it solid and strong. • The volumes of the cover, pre-melted plastic and the product have to be calculated, in order for the pressing stand to effectively compress the product.
Volume before melted Volume after pressed
3) Determine plastic type • Plastic is not just plastic, there are several types with very different attributes. • The melting temperature is different in each plastic type. • There are several methods to check the plastic type from the plastic waste. • The Precious Plastic website provides methods to identify plastic types and their attributes: https://preciousplastic.com/en/videos/plastics.html
PET
HDPE
PP
PVC
PS
LDPE
MIX
4) Prepare for melting • The specific plastic, which you want to use, has to be prepared and cut into flakes before melting. • The Shredder machine by Precious Plastic is an effective tool to prepare the plastic. If the Shredder machine is not available, simply hand-cut the plastic into small pieces. • After shredding, put the plastic into the mould and put the whole mould inside the oven.
5) Set the temperature • Before melting, the temperature of the plastic type you have chosen has to be determined. • The temperature of the oven can be set on the control panel in the control box. • Start setting the temperature with the SetTemperature button, press Set again to start. • The oven will heat up automatically after the temperature has been set.
Current Temperature
Set Temperature
Set Temp. + Temp. Change Digit - Temp.
Figure A11-2: Compression Machine manual page 2/3 for Makerere workspace (size A4)
74
6) Wait (and be patient) • After the oven has been started, it can take 20 minute or more, for the plastic to be fully melted, depending on the product, mould shape and plastic type. • It is safe to check inside the oven, if the plastic has melted yet, or not.
7) Take the mould out • To take the mould out, proper protection is required as the mould can get as hot as the temperature inside the oven, especially for steel moulds. • Put the mould on the pressing stand immediately to compress the product. If the plastic gets cold before compression, the quality of the product will be lower.
8) Press the product • Try to align the carjack and centralize the mould to the pressing stand. • Spin the carjack to compress the product, stop only when it is not possible to spin anymore.
9) Cool down the mould • Wait for the mould to cool down. • Splashing cold water onto the mould can quicken the cooling down process.
10) Take the product out • After the mould has completely cooled down, the product can be taken out of the mould. Great job!
Figure A11-3: Compression Machine manual page 3/3 for Makerere workspace (size A4)
75
APPENDIX 8: UP-PLASTIC EVENT MATERIAL
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING in East Africa brings together multidisciplinary student teams from four universities to develop sustainable solutions to community challenges in 2017–2020. aaltoglobalimpact.org/pbl-east-africa
Up-plastic Kampala
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING in East Africa brings together multidisciplinary student teams from four universities to develop sustainable solutions to community challenges in 2017–2020. The Up-plastic Kampala project (Upcycling plastic waste in Kampala) is a joint project of two student teams from Makerere University and Aalto University, who collaborate to work aaltoglobalimpact.org/pbl-east-africa on a real challenge from which the students can learn from and through another, while also aiming to support larger scale impact.
The project aim is to contribute to underlining environmental and social issues in Uganda, part of which are solid waste problems and youth unemployment. The goals of the project is to support the Makerere community to upcycle plastic waste, create awareness in waste management by launching a workspace as a community hub for plastic-reuse innovations, as well as to prototype low cost building units from recycled plastic and steel wastes.
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING in East Africa brings together multidisciplinary student teams from four universities to develop sustainable solutions to community challenges in 2017–2020. aaltoglobalimpact.org/pbl-east-africa
76
Figure A12: Project info poster (size A1)
up_plastic
m ate ria .nl/ ma te ria l/re cybl o ck
RECY-BLOCK
Partition blocks made out of plastic bags.
BOTTLE MASONRY WALL
.com
Whole plastic bottles filled with sand and layed down like bricks into mortar.
lage
levil
tt ticbo
eco-tecnologia.com/projects
BYBLOCK
ByBlocks are created with the ByFusion Blocker, a recycling machine which super-heats and compresses any category of unsorted and unwashed plastic trash.
byfusion.com
marmax-products.uk
Recycled Plastic Sturdy Bench
recycled-things.com
Green Tea Chandelier
East Art Co., Ltd.
Recycled Plastic Bags into Purses
OTHER PRODUCTS CREATED FROM PLASTIC WASTE
plas
PLASTIC BOTTLE VILLAGE
A new initiative in finding solutions to the invasion of PET plastic bottles in Colon Island, Panama.
77
Figure A13: Reference projects poster (size A1)
78 PS
OTHER polypropylene
clear, tough, solvent resistant, barrier to gas and moisture, softens at 80°
common uses
no
yellow flame little smoke
Cling wrap, garbage difficult to ignite bags, squeeze bottles, smells like candle refuse bags, mulch film
blue yellow tipped flame
dense smoke
Bottles, icecream tubes, straws, flowerpots, dishes, garden furniture, food containers
CD cases, plastic cutlery, imitation glass, foamed meat trays, brittle toys,
Soft, flexible, waxy surface, scratches easily, softens at 70°
Hard but still flexible, waxy surface, translucent, withstands solvents, softens at 140°
Clear, glassy, opaque, semi tough, softens at 95°
low-density polyethylene
polypropylene
polystyrene
Hard but still flexible, waxy surface, translucent, withstands solvents, softens at 140°
Cosmetic containers, electrical condult, plumbing pipes, blister packs, roof sheeting, garden hose
polystyrene Clear, glassy, opaque, semi tough, softens at 95° CD cases, plastic cutlery, imitation glass, foamed meat trays, brittle toys,
all other plastics Properties depend on the type of plastic automotive, electronics, packaging
automotive, electronics, packaging
Shopping bags, freezer difficult to ignite bags, milk bottles, smells like candle juice bottles, iceacream containers, shampoo, crates Properties depend on the type of plastic
Soft drink, water bottles, salad domes, bisquit trays, food containers
Cling wrap, garbage difficult to ignite bags, squeeze bottles, smells like candle refuse bags, mulch film
all other plastics
yellow flame green spurts
Cosmetic containers, electrical condult, plumbing pipes, blister packs, roof sheeting, garden hose
Strong, tough, can be clear and solvent, softens at 60° polyvinyl chloride
Shopping bags, freezer difficult to ignite bags, milk bottles, smells like candle juice bottles, iceacream containers, shampoo, crates
Soft drink, water bottles, salad domes, bisquit trays, food containers
burning
yes
yes
Hard to semi-flexible, resistant to chemicals and moisture, waxy surface, softens at 75°
Soft, flexible, waxy surface, scratches easily, softens at 70°
all other plastics
common uses
Bottles, icecream tubes, straws, flowerpots, dishes, garden furniture, food containers blue yellow tipped flame
dense smoke
OTHER
properties
no
yes
yes
yes
no
yes
no
glycerin
high-density polyethylene
low-density polyethylene
Strong, tough, can be clear and solvent, softens at 60°
PS
yes
polyvinyl chloride
Hard to semi-flexible, resistant to chemicals and moisture, waxy surface, softens at 75°
PP
yes
polyethylene terephthalate
yes
clear, tough, solvent resistant, barrier to gas and moisture, softens at 80°
All Other Plastics
PP
no
high-density polyethylene
properties
polystyrene
LDPE
yes
LDPE
yes
name
PVC
no polyethylene terephthalate
PVC
no
HDPE
name
polypropylene
no
Visual properties yes
glycerin
HDPE
no
Type
low-density polyethylene
no
no
PET
no yes
PET
Type
yes water
polyvinyl chloride
no yes
no
no
no
yes
no
yes
no
vegetable oil
high-density polyethylene
no yes yes
no
no
PS
no
no
no
PP
yes no
no
LDPE
PS no
water
alcohol
PVC
PP
HDPE
LDPE
no
PVC vegetable oil
HDPE
alcohol
PET
PET
floats on:
floats on:
polyethylene terephthalate
Different types of plastic
Floating properties
Floating properties
Visual properties burning
yellow flame little smoke
yellow flame green spurts
Figure A14: Plastic properties poster, two posters from Precious Plastic combined (size A1) all other plastics
Figure A15: Plastic melting temperatures poster from Precious Plasic (size A1)
79
Started by Dutchman Dave Hakkens.
More than 140 workspaces.
Precious Plastic community all over the world!
Since 2013.
A global community of hundreds of people working towards a solution to plastic pollution. Knowledge, tools and techniques are shared online, for free.
Fimboo Workspace in Entebbe.
preciousplastic.com
What to make out of recycled plastic?
Bowls
80
Bottle caps, Tiles
Figure A16: About Precious Plastic poster (size A1)
Flower pots
LCB
UNITS Low Cost Sustainable Building Units
LCB Units are modern structural building components produced from plastics, steel slag and sand.
RAW MATERIALS
For these LCB Units, we concentrated on one specific type of plastic known as PET, under which almost all water and soft drink bottles fall. The plastics are melted in a pan, then they are mixed with the sand and steel chippings. This is poured into the mould. Below is an image of the finished LCB Unit.
Sand
Steel chippings
Plastic
Mould
With time, we are planning on producing a number of other building units for example tiles, pavers, blocks, etc.
However, this project is continuous because there are a lot of pending tests still to be carried out. Plus, a lot of research is being carried out on plastic recycling for the production of a more effective prototype.
Figure A17: LCB unit poster designed by Jaura (size A1)
81
APPENDIX 9: RISK ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT ANTICIPATED RISKS In the risk analysis matrix (Table A2), we collected and placed anticipated project risks based on two criteria: 1. Likelihood: the probability of a risk 2. Consequences: the severity of the impact or the extent of damage caused by the risk. By placing these risks in this manner, we were able to see which risks should be addressed with higher or lower priority. High risks are visualized in the table in red and orange, medium risks are marked yellow and low risks green. We looked at internal and external risks, where internal risks (in bold) related to our teams, team Aalto and team Makerere and things that we can influence. FT stands for risks related to our field trip, and external risks represent risks that are not necessarily in our control but still have to be considered.
RISKS MANAGED Throughout the field trip, we only encountered some of the anticipated risks, such as troubles with finding the space for the workspace, missing machine parts, limited budget, sometimes differences in communication style with staff and team members, different hierarchies and ways of working. Yet, all of these troubles were worked out. Being passionate and motivated allowed the team to push forward and establish important connections, which opened us up to many lucky coincidences. Especially the community around us helped out in big ways, for example with finding the parts needed for the machines, or getting the right material for our final event. We believe that sharing our daily emotions and thoughts with another in the daily keyword meetings in the evenings contributed to our success, as we were able to talk about troubles, reflect and find solutions together. Also, sharing team rules with team Makerere provided a common base of sympathy for another and fueled everyone to do well and work hard. Despite different working styles, in the end everyone came through and worked to make the event happen, to get the machine and prototypes ready and place them in the workspace. Open communication and setting examples of proactivity may have been a key factor for managing most risks we had anticipated. The probably biggest problem we encountered, was likely the team being weakened by sickness and insomnia. Nevertheless, other team
82
Unlikely to happen
Somewhat likely
Insignificant Consequence
- Competitor steals ideas
- FT: dehydration / heat stroke
- FT: sunburns
Moderate Consequence
- FT: Legal issues - no learnings for team Makerere & team Aalto
- FT: Sickness of all team members - FT: getting robbed - Culture shock - Delayed project progress because of slow partnership communication
- Offending someone on a personal level - Different opinions on sustainability and its importance for the project - Schedule problems
- FT: Violence - Teams doesn’t believe in project anymore - Political riots - Natural disaster - partnership with Makerere University breaks apart
- FT: Car accident - Dysfunctional team due to communication, values too separate, bad management - Product doesn’t work (steel, plastic, sand..) - Someone gets hurt during production - We don’t find or cannot create a safe production space - We create a product/ workspace that doesn’t find ownership in the local environment - Partnerships with companies & authorities don’t work at all - Financial boundaries - The product ends up being not sustainable
-
High Consequence
Very likely to happen
Table A2: Risk analysis matrix members helped out and thus planned activities were able to continue as planned. We were lucky to not have been exposed to extreme risks such as robbery (although close), political riots or severe sunburns or
83
dehydration. For the latter we had come prepared with sunscreen and lots of water. Besides sickness, the uncertainty about what sustainability and sustainable development means to all of us and how important we evaluate it to be, and how to communicate about it, was a big challenge. The life cycle assessment workshop was a great way to open up the topic, as well as the Fimboo visit. However, we were not fully able to convince all team members that mixing materials is not a sustainable practice, a risk that remains.
APPENDIX 10: LIST OF RESOURCES Important groups of human resources were: •• Team members •• Teachers, mentors and coordinators •• Artists •• Engineers and lab technicians in Makerere University •• People with interest in plastic recycling Physical resources include materials, equipment, building tools, workshop materials. Most of these were used during the field trip, because there we did a lot of practical work and in Finland we focused more on planning, researching and designing. Physical resources: •• Materials for machines •• Materials for workshop (big paper, post-its, markers) •• Materials for LCB unit (steel slag, plastic, sand) •• Tools and equipment for building the machines •• Material and supplies for the event (paints, plastic, chairs, tables) We communicated with team Makerere before our trip, but resources for communication were needed during the trip and afterwards. Especially for organizing the event at the end of our field trip, communication resources were needed. Tools for communication are important in project work since different methods work with different groups. For example, in Uganda we used more phone calls to invite people to events, rather than Emails, which is more common in Finland. Communication resources: •• Computers •• Phones •• Credit (internet and phone calls) Before our field trip, we did a lot of research about the topic but also about how to plan effective workshops, about teamwork and problem-based learning. For researching we used materials such as books,
84
articles and websites. However, we also needed information about the country; therefore, people who live in Uganda or have lived or travelled there were important sources of knowledge. For research we needed: •• Computers •• Bbooks •• Articles •• People Facilities and places to work at are important resource as well because, for example, the meeting place can have a lot to do with the atmosphere and influence the results of a meeting. In our case, space to do practical work during the field trip was important. We needed space for meetings, building the machine and planning the event. •• Space for preparations (cutting plastic etc.) •• Space for building machine •• Space for meetings •• Space for latter use of a machine •• Space for the event
APPENDIX 11: BUDGET BUDGET (in €)
PLANNED
REALIZED
AALTO Event materals & supplies Up-plastic info posters (7 pcs) Compression Machine
€68,20
€26,51
€26,40
€26,40
€133,00
€150,42
€5,06
€5,06
MAKERERE Marketing posters for event Event supplies & logistics Stakeholder travel costs and materials
TOTAL BOTH TEAMS
€8,80
€5,94
€70,40
€70,40
€311,86
€284,73
Table A3: Project expenses team Aalto and team Makerere
85
Table A4: Compression machine expenses
86
1.2m x 2.4 m 1.2m x 2.4 m 1.2m x 2.4 m 1mm 25x25x3mm 150x180x1.5mm
Sheets Metal 3mm 5mm 6mm Sheet metal Sheet metal Mesh
Labour SUM
Misc Oven Car jack Bearing Drill Motor Wooden base
26x600mm +/- 2kw 18mm
45x45x55cm
35x45mm 40x45mm
0-400 Degree 2-24 V Type K 220V 220V
25mm 26mm 30mm 30x30x3mm 27m 34x26x4mm 30x30x3mm 20x3mm 30x3mm 30x4mm
Electronics PID Controller SSR Thermocouple Power switch Led indicator Powercord heat sink Contactor wires Heating coil Bandheater Bandheater
Detail
Items
Steel Bars Round bar Round bar Round bar Angle profile Hexagon bar Tube Square tube Strip Strip Strip cm
IN
1,500
ALL Quantity
TOTAL SUM TOTAL EUR
SUM Quantity 1
Quantity 1 1 1 1 1 5
unit
piece piece piece piece piece m
sheet sheet
cm
260
1 1
cm
Quantity 45
Price
???
36000 36000
Price 72000
578,000.00 132.94
180,000.00 180,000.00
218,000.00
60,000.00
130,000.00
16,000.00 23,000.00 35,000.00
UNIVERSITY Price
Estimate Price
0000001
Done Done
50000
250000
FIMBOO FIMBOO FIMBOO
ACTUAL THINGS
Compressor
844,000.00
190,000.00
130000 ? 60000
20.02 UPDATE
x x x
x
21.02 UPDATE
40,000.00
x
x
22.02 UPDATE
40,000.00
150,000.00 654,000.00 150.42
100000 40000
60,000.00 140,000.00 64,000.00 60,000.00
none none none
PRICE PAID
APPENDIX 12: COMMUNICATION PLAN We have divided our communications in internal and external divisions and despite of them overlapping, we think they are quite different by nature. Internal communications With internal communications we refer to our communication inside our Aalto student team, with our project leaders Matleena and Matias, as well as communication with our project partner, team Makerere and their leaders. Our team Aalto communicates through three online platforms, besides our weekly formal and informal meetings. We use Whatsapp and Slack both for discussions as well as for sharing information and inspiration. Google Drive is our working platform, where we can co-work real time and share documents. In Google Drive we have three folders, one for only team Aalto, one that is shared with our project leaders and one that is shared with our partner team Makerere. With team Makerere we aim to share information via email on weekly basis, mostly in form of coherent documents. However, we have a Whatsapp group where we can chat about the project and also casually. We use Skype for online calls with the student team members. We designated Anna as the main contact person both with team Makerere and our project leaders to avoid overlapping information sharing. We aim to always agree on what we communicate outside of team Finland with all team members. We also agreed on quality over quantity on information sharing with our partner team. The project evaluation and lessons learned take place in face-to-face meetings as well as in a summary document. External communications Our external communication plan aims to take into account all relevant stakeholders; both universities and their networks, possible partners, companies, NGOs and public organizations as well as the current and future students that can benefit from the learnings of our project. We decided to have two main channels for sharing information and documenting our project. The more formal one is a blog, created with Tumblr. We aimed to write one post before our field trip and started from there to update our blog approximately once a week. Sara is responsible for uploading the content onto the platform. Another communication channel for us is Instagram, for more informal and relaxed communications. We launched our Instagram channel when starting our field trip
87
up-plastic. tumblr.com
instagra.com/ up_plastic
and aimed to post at least one picture / video with a short story every day during the trip. After the trip, one post a week could be convenient. Olga and Anna are mainly in charge of the Instagram platform. The aim of these two channels is to reach stakeholders who are interested in following our project. The two channels are also easy to combine, by sharing a link to the blog in the Instagram page, which usually reaches a larger audience. Also, we can work together with other pages, such as Aalto University’s Instagram page and have them to repost our posts to gain larger audiences. These two channels also offer an opportunity for visitors to contact us privately, in Instagram direct chat or by email. With our possible partners we communicate by utilizing our existing communication channels, as well as email, choosing the most suitable channel for every stakeholder. Most likely the public authorities and freelance artists won’t be communicated with through the same channel. The final report of our project comes in two versions and is designed to suit the interests of all different stakeholders. The reports will be shared via email and will be uploaded on Issuu.com, to be shared publicly with anyone interested in our project and with the media. We will have an extensive report, which will target the SGT studio course teachers and everyone interested in learning in detail about the project. The abstract report will aim at most stakeholders, and will contain the highlights of the project. Another deliverable is the Compression Machine Manual which is shared with team Makerere, and is placed in the Precious Plastic Makerere workspace. Further, we will have a mini booklet including the tumblr blog content. The media release will be another channel to inform the public about our project. Team Makerere is also preparing a full report about their work which should be ready by the beginning of June, also including video and photo material.
88
1 Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe , Jackson A. Mwakali & Bengt Hansson (2007) Factors affecting the productivity of building craftsmen - studies of Uganda, Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 13:3, 169-176 2 Limited, A., Ltd, A., Ltd, P., Ltd, R., & Ltd, Z. (2018). Uganda Manufacturers Association - Recycling. Uma.or.ug. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://www.uma. or.ug/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=listcats&cat_id=128 3 EWMC 2016 - homepage . (2018). EWMC 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from http://wastemanagementconference.com/ppp2.php 4 Dr. Daniel Babikwa “Status of the management of polythene bags in Uganda and policy direction�. A paper presented at the EAWMC 2017 Conference. 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018, from http://wastemanagementconference.com/ EAWMC%202017%20Presentations/The%20status%20of%20plastic%20waste%20 management%20in%20uganda-Dr.%20Daniel%20Babikwa,%20Director,%20 NEMA%20Uganda.pdf (read 15.01.2018) 5 The Story Behind Precious Plastic - Dave Hakkens. (2017). Dave Hakkens. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://davehakkens.nl/preciousplastic/the-story-behind-precious-plastic/ 6 Monthly news #1 - Dave Hakkens. (2017). Dave Hakkens. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://davehakkens.nl/community/monthly-news-1-%f0%9f%93%b0/ 7 Precious Plastic Map. (2018). Map.preciousplastic.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://map.preciousplastic.com/ 8 Monthly News #4 - Welding in Kenya, PET research & flying the drone on a landfill. (2018). YouTube. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KQ-LuFNui-4&feature=youtu.be 9 Dave Hakkens upgrades his plastic project to version 3.0. (2018). Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/703/163901.html 10 Fimboo story in Uganda - Dave Hakkens. (2017). Dave Hakkens. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://davehakkens.nl/community/fimboo-story-in-uganda/ 11 Precious Plastic Kisii part two - Dave Hakkens. (2017). Dave Hakkens. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://davehakkens.nl/preciousplastic/precious-plastickisii-part-two/
89
Table A1 Limited, A., Ltd, A., Ltd, P., Ltd, R., & Ltd, Z. (2018). Uganda Manufacturers Association - Recycling. Uma.or.ug. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https:// www.uma.or.ug/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=listcats&cat_id=128 Figure A1 Precious Plastic Workspace. (2018). Preciousplastic.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://preciousplastic.com/en/workspaces.html Figure A2 (2018). Materia.nl. Retrieved 6 May 2018, from http://materia.nl/ wp-content/uploads/2016/04/precious-plastic-build-your-own-plastic-recycling-factory-10.jpg Figure A3 (2018). Byfusion.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from http://www. byfusion.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/replast.png Figure A4 (2018). Images.adsttc.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/58fe/3d6c/e58e/cedf/3300/0306/large_jpg/Encaje. jpg?1493056872 Figure A5 Photo source Olga Mäkinen Figure A6 (2018). Citylab010.nl. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://www.citylab010.nl/system/proposals/f0/e5/detail/impressie_website.jpg?1493128981%20 Figure A7 (2018). Archello.com. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from http://www. archello.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/header_detail_large/product/media/ Recy%20Block%20Wall%20-%20roos.jpg Figure A8 (2018). Cdn.materia.nl. Retrieved 29 January 2018, from https://cdn.materia.nl/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/klp-recycled-panels-pla881-5-600x400.jpg Figure A14 -A15 Precious Plastic. (2018). Preciousplastic.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018, from https://preciousplastic.com/
90
Photo by Mark Rujumba
91
Up-Plastic Kampala Stories and more at www.up-plastic.tumblr.com Follow us on Instagram #up_plastic 2018