Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
In her usual habit of suggesting ideas that are sustainable for the country and also a means of generating income, Nourane Foster, in a Facebook post, urged the government to turn waste into clothing. An idea she stated could generate 500 billion FCFA each year to the country’s coffers, which can in turn aid in sponsoring youth projects and fighting unemployment. Clothes being made of 90% polyester, which is produced from plastics, she highlighted the need for those who pick up garbage to pay for the garbage they pick because it is highly valuable, instead of the government paying them 50 billion FCFA per year to sort the garbage.
“Each Cameroonian currently produces 0.45 kilograms of waste every day, 365 days a year. We have an average individual production of 164 kilos of waste each. 20% of this waste is recyclable plastic components, which represents approximately 990,000 tons of plastic waste. On the local market, a kilo currently costs 500 CFA francs. If we take this price, which is also the lowest in the world, we get 500 billion CFA francs” her Facebook post reads. She proceeded by stating that the garbage sorting done by the international companies the government pays is one of the reason why there are garbages piling the streets our cities in the country as she called on the government heads to initiate a negotiation with them. “Personally, I don’t know if it’s incompetence or spite. It’s easy to negotiate with these foreigners. We call them to a table and tell them either you wear everything, including what you won’t use, or you leave everything behind, and the whole country will be clean the next day” she added.
A very plausible idea and income-generating suggestion she made, which many noted, but as the saying goes, it is only an idea until it is acted upon. So though her suggestion is a good one, being a member of parliament, she has the resources to make the proposal directly to the states where the suggestion might materialize. However, given that it’s a Facebook post, an entrepreneur might see the idea and do the research needed for it and act it out, so who knows? Someone somewhere might just be watching and would gladly dive into it.
