By Anne Nzouankeu
TRT AFRIKA,Yaoundé
On Londji beach in Cameroon, alongside traditional wooden canoes, there are now canoes made from plastic bottles.
Fisherman Camille Dimale has been using this plastic bottle canoe for two years, and says he is satisfied.
"It's light and easy for me to use because sometimes I go fishing alone. So I can easily carry it, take it to the water, move it without needing help. It doesn't spoil easily so,'' Dimale says.
"It's more economical, more durable. I'm not afraid that it will break or crack and it doesn't leak. It's really very practical," explains Dimale.
Cameroon produces around six million tonnes of waste each year, including 600,000 tonnes of plastics.
Some waste is transformed, but others, such as plastics which are non-biodegradable, are abandoned in nature, polluting the environment and water.
The NGO Madiba and Nature decided to reduce this pollution through recycling. It collects these bottles, cleans them, ties them together, makes canoes and offers them to fishermen.
Head of the NGO, Ismaël Essomè, an environmental management engineer, explains that he had this idea when he was looking for a solution to clean beaches while helping fishermen.
"Madiba and Nature decided to make canoes with plastic bottles to support fishing, because fishing is one of the main economic activities in Cameroon,'' he said.
''A canoe made from plastic bottles is cheaper, less expensive than classic canoes made of wood, easy to maintain and it allows the fisherman to move to places where he cannot reach with conventional canoes,” Essomè adds.
The NGO says it collects around three to five tonnes of plastic bottles every month. Part of it is used to make the canoes, the other part is sold to other recycling partners.
