Duo out to tame littering with innovative waste bags

Steven Omolo displays his waste bag in Nairobi last week. The reusable bag is made of degradable fabric which can be recycled. PHOTO | STELLAR MURUMBA 

By STELLAR MURUMBA smurumba@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Steven Omolo and Cyprian Ogoti’s idea has been nominated for possible funding through the Lion’s Den programme.

Steven Omolo, 30, knows well the effects of a flooded city, especially to a jam-prone one like Nairobi.

When it rains in Kenya’s capital city, poor drainage infrastructure coupled with litter conspire to turn roads into pools that greatly impede the movement of pedestrians and vehicles.

Worse still, homes are damaged and sadly lives lost. National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) data shows that 70 per cent of litter generated in Nairobi city is as a result of clutter thrown out of moving vehicles.

Based on this environmentally-hazardous statistic, Mr Omolo has come up with an innovation which he hopes will help raise awareness and encourage motorists to stop littering.

Endorsed the idea

“I have designed disposable waste bags for private cars and matatus,” said Mr Omolo.

Working together with Cyprian Ogoti of the Environmental Society of Kenya, their idea of disposable car waste bags has been nominated for possible funding through the upcoming Lion’s Den programme.

Mr Omolo, a Masters Degree holder in Strategic Management from Kenyatta University, said that if incorporated as a Kenyan culture the waste bags will go a long way in taming littering and promoting a pristine environment.

NEMA and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) have already endorsed the idea for a clean Kenya.

“From my meetings with NEMA and NTSA, for a long time they have been looking for an appropriate design to replace plastic bins in matatus and they are considering my designs. The waste bags will soon become a requirement for every matatu, by law. Personal car owners can acquire each at only Sh500,” he said.

Bigger sizes are also available at Sh800 and companies can endorse them to build their brands.

The waste bags are designed by widows and orphans from the Transform a Person charity in Kibera slums, who in turn get at least Sh100 per design.

The bags can be reused for about four years without wearing off and unlike plastic paper bags, they are made of degradable fabric that can be recycled in the event of tears.

Minimise litter leakage

The bags are waterproof hence minimise litter leakage. So far over 5,000 pieces have been designed and sold to corporates, individuals and in some of the matatus plying the Ongata Rongai route.

Mr Omolo also uses the waste bags to advertise his other company, Tender Adverts. The company gives daily updates of tenders advertised by the government and private sector and also provides information on how to win a tender.

Already 20 companies have signed up to the car waste project under the name Safisha Nairobi. A company gets branded after making a minimum order of 100 pieces.

“It is like a moving billboard at a cost of only Sh800 per bag,” Mr Omolo said.

Safisha is Swahili word for clean up. He said that the Safisha Nairobi campaign is aimed at educating people on effects of littering and environmental conservation.

Instead of lamenting and whining, Mr Omolo has been making a living out of every tricky situation that comes his ways. In 2010, when he was working for KenGen, Mr Omolo was posted to Ngara in Nairobi as Tenders and Contracts Officer.

The food supplied to staff by the company was insufficient and so he saw an opportunity to prepare lunch and sell it to colleagues.

That venture grew and he later registered Shanels Group of Companies and opened Shanels Restaurant in Kibos area, Kisumu.

He started the company with a Sh500,000 loan which he has repaid. “Management of the hotel didn’t go so well since I was working while doing business at the same time. I quit my job to fully concentrate on business.

“It is not always about money. I am driven by passion to shape my own destiny and leave a legacy for my children,” said the father of one, adding that he later leased out the hotel.

This was after gangsters carjacked him at his hotel in January 2014. Mr Omolo turned the incident into an opportunity. He formed a security firm which has 24 trained staff.

Mr Omolo also owns the Vacation Kenya Company which posts updates online on quality hotels and honeymoon destinations.

“I try to counter every challenge I encounter and I am now shifting to the digital space since it allows growth to venture in new markets,” said Mr Omolo.