Many areas of Makongeni Estate are now free from plastic materials more than ever before thanks to a youths' group that has been collecting and selling them to plastic recyclers in and out of Thika Town.
Makongeni Youth Initiative (MYI), a group of former area alcoholics has been collecting plastic wastes in Makongeni estate and now has extended the collection to neighbouring estates of Kiganjo, Kiang'ombe, Muthaiga and Murimo.
Group Chairman David Mwaura says that plastics are like jewels to them and that they extended their services to the nearby estates after Makongeni alone failed to meet their demand for the plastics.
"We could not collect a sizeable quantity to meet our clients demand and we had to cast our net wider to get enough for their weekly collection," said Mwaura on Monday at Kiganjo where they have been gathering plastics for the last one week.
Mwaura says that the good thing about their job is that they are able to earn a living as they keep the environment clean.
"It is very hard to find plastics anywhere in Makongeni estate because our members, 18 of them wake up every morning to look for those plastics. Every plastic collected means an extra coin for us," Mwaura added.
He says that they will continue with the initiative as long as plastics continue to be available.
"By the time we exhaust them in all the neighbouring estates we will have gathered enough capital to go for them in far places maybe outside Thika town," Mwaura exuded confidence.