Nelly Gesare is on a mission to reimagine waste as something valuable. Gesare, who founded Greenthing Kenya in 2019, has a steady supply of materials. Nairobi generates a large amount of waste every day, up to 4,000 tons. However, only 10% of this waste is managed properly, with the vast majority ending up in dumpsites such as the Dandora Landfill. Greenthing Kenya employs waste pickers, mostly women, who rummage through this dumpsite in search of waste, particularly glass, which they then deposit at the Greenthing Kenya workshop. There, the company’s artisans convert the glass into artistic yet functional products such as tableware. Gesare hopes that Greenthing Kenya’s products will inspire conversations around sustainability.
DW
