Africa-Press – Uganda. The demand for used up plastics for recycling purposes has earned street kids in Soroti Town a source of living.
The children pick discarded plastic bottles and jerrycans to sell for cash.
At night, they hang out around night clubs or shops to collect the non-biodegradables.
Felix Opio, 15, says every morning, he walks around the streets to collect plastic bottles and takes them to a selling point popularly known as Parliament-Oligoi for sale.
Opio, who hails from Kalaki District, says he was forced to go to the streets after his parents failed to pay his school fees.
Having spent one-and-half-years now on the streets, he says life became bearable due to picking plastic bottles.
“When I get something reasonable, I share it with my mother who is staying in the village to buy water and food,” he narrates.
Press has established that that a kilogramme of plastic bottles is being bought at Shs250. Opio picks between 30-60kgs on daily basis, which earns him between Shs3,500 and 15,000.
Samuel Olinga, another street child, says he is now able to buy food and water.
“If I don’t pick plastics or collect water for the rich homesteads in town, I don’t find what to eat,” Olinga says.
He adds that at times, they come under torture from people while picking plastics.
“There is a general feeling among people that those who live on the streets are bad people and are thieves, which is not the case,” he explains.
Fred Okiror, one of the street kids operating a video cinema, told this paper that the rise in the demand for used plastics has attracted a number of business dealers across Soroti City and in every division, at least there are more than three dealers.
“The only time that street kids can congregate is during evening hours, but for most of the other hours during the day, they are busy collecting plastics,” he says.
Okiror adds that for now, most street kids are able to have Shs1,000.
He states that as of last year December, they had roughly close to 150 street children in the heart of Soroti City, majority being from the district of Amuria, Katakwi, Kalaki and Napak from Karamoja Sub-region.
Ms Hagira Namusoke, who operates a grocery in the city, says the level of crime among the street kids has reduced.
“Most of the time they are in the suburbs,” she narrates.
Mr Charles Omoding , a middleman dealing in scrap and used up plastics, praises street children for fighting plastic polution.
Mr Omoding adds that at times when they bring items that are still of good use, they alert the area LC1 chairpersons to take note of them
“For such items, we don’t include in the stock, we have it kept aside until such a time when there is no complainant,’’ he says.
He confirmed that the scrap and plastics are sold to manufactures of steel items.
Ms Damali Apidding, another scrap and plastic dealer in Moruapesur in Soroti City East Division, says street kids are a big asset in their day-to-day business.
“Since the collection involves visiting nasty areas, children from well-to-do backgrounds find this as odd work,’’ she says.
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