The demand for used plastic bottles and containers has gone up and traders now eye for export markerts including China. Used plastic bottles now fetch up to 5000/- a kilogramme, up from between 3000/- and 2000/- a kilogramme, some two months ago. The Dar es Salaam's Used Plastic Bottled Association (UUCD) interim Chairman, Mr Christopher Rugamarila, said the current situation is not good because factories by-pass agents.

"We called the representative of (grinding) factories and told them they should stop buying from collection points, we will supply them," the Chairman said adding the "situation is uncalled for as we cannot compete with them."

He blamed Chinese petty traders following high price offered in China after the ending of global financial crisis.

UUCD members said their collection went down to 100 tonnes a month from 300 tonnes since factories started to buy at collection points.

Under a normal circumstance, the association is using about 90m/- a month for buying 300 tonnes of the plastic waste and earning roughly 150m/- after selling them to the factories.

The biggest collection station is at Mchikichini where about 80 tonnes a week are collected.

On Wednesday, the UUCD chairman called a meeting with some of the companies engaged in plastic shredding industry including Bakhresa Group, SV Polymer Ltd -both from Tanzania and Tanzania Rudders Company (TRC) of China, and agreed that factories should not buy at retail points.

TRC Director Mr Kevin Yeh said his company has no problem with paying 500/-per kg to UUCD members but they should stop discriminating them when supplying the materials.

"I am forced to go direct to the market as these guys are not coming to me. They sell to others and not me alone," Mr Yeh said.

TRC has the capacity of grinding 30 tonnes of used plastic bottles per day and export about 50 tonnes of grinding stuff a month to China.

"We still need the agents, as streets collectors are supplying slowly,"Mr Mbunga said.

The Bakhresa Group representative, Mr Peter Raphael, said the grinding factory needs between 18 and 20 tonnes of plastic bottles a day but it only getting less than 15 tonnes.

"Unlike others we are not exporting the material, we are end users. We recycle them for bottling our water," Mr Raphael said.

He said recycling plastic saved the company from importing raw plastic material - which are product of petrochemicals.

SV Polymer Director Mr Satya Narayana said they cannot compete with Bakhresa because - our prices are subjected to world market happenings while (Bakhresa) recycles for its own use.

Current factories are buying at 500/- a kilo, but Bakhresa offers 520/- per kilo. All factories are providing transport within Dar es Salaam city, as an incentive.

Abduel Elinaza

Tanzania Daily News