He was only 15 years old when he decided to make plastic waste his battle horse. Now 17 years old, Edgar Edmun Tarimo is an entrepreneur who launched his start-up and transforms this material into a building material. The story is beautiful and the Children's Climate Award was not mistaken.
Impossible to circulate in the city of Arusha, in Tanzania without staring at the mounds of plastic waste and the situation is common to other African cities. Edgar Edmun Tarimo grew up in this context which guarantees neither good health for him nor a good image for his hometown. He becomes aware very early of the situation and the stakes for the environment.
From a passion for environmental protection to entrepreneurship
At 15, then a student at The School of St Jude (a school founded in Arusha by Australian Gemma Sisia in 2002, Editor’s Note), Edgar Edmun Tarimo set out from the outset to take action against the proliferation of plastic waste. He embarked on the adventure of recycling. His passion for this adventure led him to launch a company he called “Green Venture Recycles”.
Edgar Edmun Tamiro, 17 bears old, launched his own company, called “Green Venture Recycles”.
He then invented a machine that transforms plastic waste into paving stones and tiles used for the construction of buildings and roads. To date, his company has recycled over 1.2 million plastic bags, the equivalent of 20 tons of plastic waste. Problem: The melting of plastic produces toxic gases such as dioxin and furan. He then decides to remedy this by creating a filter to trap these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which otherwise accumulate in the food chain and increase the risk of cancerous diseases, among others…
Edgar Edmun Tarimo’s company now employs 5 full-time staff for recycling. But the waste collection activity in the streets of Arusha also allows a hundred people to survive.
Children’s Climate Award
Edgar Edmun Tarimo does not just recycle plastic waste. He also visits schools in the city of Arusha to raise awareness and train young people in environmental protection. According to Green Ventures Recycles, over 4000 people have been trained.
Its action earned it a distinction in 2017: the Children’s Climate Award. Created in 2016 by the Swedish renewable energy company Telge Energi, the prize rewards young people aged 12 to 17 who, through their actions, contribute to saving the planet by focusing on sustainable development. In Sweden, Edgar Edmun Tarimo received a medal, a diploma of honour and a sum of 50,000 SEK, or more than 4600 euros.
Jean Marie Takouleu
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