Capacity, capacity, capacity to recover more Roadmap

Capacity, capacity, capacity - the three most important factors to keep any waste management operation financially sustainable. Our current collection vehicle is a lovely three-wheeler with fun cartoons on it. But as lovely and fun looking it is as much of a strain it is to operate it profitable. The calculation is easy - At maximum capacity the value of the plastic waste transported must be more than the cost of operation. Sadly, prices of waste plastic are still too low in Sri Lanka to make that calculation work. At the moment it only makes sense for us to run the vehicle because we can recycle some of the plastic waste in house and generate more value per weight. We do have buyers for all types of plastics, even nylon waste fishing gear but to collect waste material in bulk our payload must increase. The next larger vehicle that would secure the profitability of our operation would be a single cab Bolero pick up and has a price of approximately $15,000 USD and part of the financing will come from the sale of our current three-wheeler. Furthermore, a larger vehicle will not only secure the workplaces of our staff members but also create new workplaces in sorting and processing. Considering Sri Lanka’s economic situation, we believe it is very important to provide more work in the country and avoid Sri Lankans going abroad for work, leaving their family behind. So, in the end it is not only about capacity but also our staff, staff, staff. If we want to retain dignified jobs in waste management in Sri Lanka, we need to keep staff from leaving the country. Capacity = retained staff = good work that keeps the environment clean and increases recycling rates of all plastics.