Farai Pyro, Zimbabwe

Project name:  Farai Pyro

Project location: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Website: http://faraipyro.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farai-Pyro-1878381869079252/

Project description:

In Zimbabwe, large volumes of plastic materials are manufactured and used daily. After use, these plastics add to the billions of tons of non biodegradable waste worldwide. Plastics are an environmental hazard and sometimes pollute oceans, destroying reefs and killing marine life. Landfills are dug out to house this plastic waste but that leads to toxic chemical seeping into soil and water sources. Incineration only produces more pollution.

We believe pyrolysis is the best means of protecting the environment by converting the waste plastic into useful fuel. This fuel in is then passed through an efficient burner to generate electricity with little emissions. We call this project Farai Pyro or “be-happy Pyro”

Pyrolysis is the oxygen deprived degradation of petroleum based waste (plastic, old tires) into energy rich gaseous chemical components. The process happens at temperatures between 900-1200 Degrees Fahrenheit (480-650 Degrees Celsius).

Farai Pyro is currently engaged in the process of raising awareness of environmental issues. This is tough in a developing country where the main challenge is putting food on the table, let alone the environment. We are in conversations with city authorities and setting up in Bulawayo right next to the largest landfill in the city for easy access to raw materials. We are planning to host a plastic waste collection competition in order to gather raw materials and raise awareness of the environmental hazard and solution, we have come up with.

Goal and purpose of the project:

Farai Pyro is a project located in Zimbabwe, a developing country plagued by electricity shortages and a struggling economy. The project’s aim is to clean the environment and produce electricity from the waste plastic, used tires and other solid waste. Essentially, our goal is to add value to waste. We will turn an environmental hazard into an electricity generating fuel; thereby creating employment, stabilizing the domestic supply of electricity, and revitalizing the economy.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, half of my life was spent in a rich Zimbabwe on its way down. I remember days when 50c (Zim Dollar) was my pocket money and it bought me half a loaf of bread and I remember days when $1 Trillion bought a loaf of bread. My drive comes from my desire to be an agent of positive economic change in the nation of Zimbabwe. Being able to partner with someone currently in Zimbabwe is evidence that there is hope, and that Zimbabwe is a promising economic frontier and tech hub.

Use of prize money:

1,760EUR – for transportation, legal documentation etc.
3,520EUR to sponsor a plastic collection and recycling competition.
((((440EUR – to winning school
1760EUR – 1 year of school fees to winning team of 2
880EUR – 2nd winning team of 2
440EUR – 3rd winning team of 2)))))
1760EUR – support this competition in t-shirts, advertisement, labor, endorsements.
6,000EUR – procure the land needed to house the collected plastic from the competitions
960 - security of land and fence
1,000EUR – pay team members