BITE Insight

In 2017, Kenya completely banned plastic bags. The penalties for use are the toughest in the world with up to four years in jail or a maximum fine of $38,000. This sort of ban sets out to make a systemic change but what’s essential is that the effects trickle down to everyone in the country.

One venture operating at community level, but with continental ambitions, is the Flipflopi Project. The organisation aims to raise awareness of the dangers of single-use plastics by building a Dhow, a traditional sailing boat, made out of 100% recycled plastic found on the beaches and roadsides of Kenya. A single plastic bag can take up to 500 years to degrade so, why not use it again?

Droga5 London worked with the production company Borderland to create Plastic: A Second Life, which tells the story of the Flipflopi Project in documentary-style. The project focuses on the second life of plastic, not necessarily its outlawing altogether. The boat took two years, over ten tonnes of plastic waste and thousands of repurposed flip flops to build.  

The Flipflopi Project focuses on the innovative and important imaginings that can turn waste into something new. The boat communicates the importance of recyclables, drawing from the philosophy of the circular economy, a idea that Kenya’s ministers say is starting to gain traction in the country.

The team’s aim is to sail the boat from Kenya to Cape Town in South Africa, raising awareness along the way. Because when you look at the world, nothing is really trash: everything is recyclable and can be used to create something new.