TRADE AND RECYCLING OF URBAN INORGANIC SOLID WASTE IN NAIROBI 179
andvunjika nevertheless still find their way to dumps (formal and informal). Like
paper, glass recycling is only done by large-scale reprocessors.
Glass is reprocessed by CGI, a subsidiary of Kenya Breweries Ltd. (KBL). CGI started
recycling waste glass in 1987, using waste glass obtained from its parent company
KBL and other large bottling companies like Coca-Cola. Reprocessing at this time
simply entailed the sanitization of bottles for reuse. They also purchased broken glass
(vunjika) from waste dealers for reprocessing into drinking glasses, water jugs,
tumblers as well as bottles. Like Chandaria, CGI started buying bottles and broken
glass from Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. These were obtained at varying prices
according to type; green and clear glass at Ksh. 2,500 (US$ 33) per ton and brown
glass at Ksh. 1,800 (US$ 24) per ton.
CGI is not explicitly recognised as a waste glass-recycling factory, but as a formal
enterprise undertaking bottle recycling for its parent company KBL. At its formation
in 1987, capital finance largely came from KBL. However, cleaning bottles was soon
found to be insufficient to generate and sustain the company's recurrent expenditure
and CGI began cleaning bottles for other multinational bottling companies. Addition-
ally, its survival was to be enhanced by the reprocessing of cullet into glassware. This
move made the recovery and trade of vunjika economically feasible for waste pickers
and dealers However, because of the high maintenance costs of the precision equip-
ment used, the company soon found broken glass recycling to be unprofitable. Oper-
ations were discontinued in the early 1990s and the full production line closed
completely in 1999. The waste glass collectors and dealers were left with large heaps
of broken glass with no alternative outlet.
Figure 8.4. Chain for the recovery, reuse and recycling of glassGenerator - HHs,
bottlers DumpsitesWaste
pickersItinerant
buyersDealerLarge-scale
recycling unit -
CGI