Trash is cash: Raking in millions from car waste

Steven Onyango Omolo,the founder of Tender Adverts, the company behind car trash bags displaying one of the bags at his offices at Mayfair Suites in Westlands,Nairobi on 18th May 2016 during the interview. [PHOTO:JAMES WANZALA/STANDARD]

When in traffic, what do you do with the peel after eating a banana you just bought from a street vendor? Where do you throw the plastic bottle after finishing up your soda? Or the wrapper that held a snack?

Too often, motorists and their passengers throw this trash out the window and onto the street. The impact of this habit has recently been brought to the public’s attention after clogged drainages led to devastating floods across major towns.

Steven Omolo, 30, has had enough of this trash and is doing something about it. His company has contracted women in Nairobi’s Kibera slums to make car waste bags.

“Our inspiration came from the flooding in many cities like Nairobi,” Mr Omolo said.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Nairobi County are already working together to make it mandatory for motorists to have dustbins in their vehicles to address plastic waste.

After Nairobi, the legislation is expected to be replicated across all other counties.

NTSA Director of Road Safety Matthew Munyao told Business Beat an estimated 500,000 bottles are disposed of through private and public vehicle windows daily.

It is these statistics that drove Omolo’s company, Tender Adverts, into the waste business.

The bags the firm makes are water-proof, sealable and last about three years. They come in a variety of designs and colours, including blue, beige, red and black. They fit around the headrests of vehicle seats or around gear levers.

Tender Adverts’ bags are put together and designed by Transform A Person, an NGO that supports disadvantaged women and children in Kibera.

“When you buy a bag, know that you are helping a needy woman feed her family, as well as conserving the environment,” said Omolo.

The materials used to make the bags, however, are imported from Dubai.

Retail prices

Omolo’s main business is preparing tenders for clients, but his car trash bag idea has also taken off. Corporates are now approaching him to get the bags branded with their logos for giveaways.

“We are also in talks with major oil companies who are willing to buy branded bags to give to motorists who fuel at their petrol stations,” said Omolo.

He sells each bag at a retail price of Sh500, and wholesale at Sh400.The minimum retail quantity one can purchase is 20 pieces, while the wholesale quantity is 100 pieces.

“This business line is just over a month old, yet we have already sold 1,800 bags to companies and 5,000 bags to retail buyers. We plan to make them available on supermarket shelves soon,” said Omolo.

This means the firm has raked in about Sh3.2 million from the bags.

But while the payout has been beyond expectations, Omolo thinks the business has yet to reach its peak.

“The product is still new in the market, so we are hoping more people appreciate the bags and buy them. The more bags they buy, the more the message of environmental conservation will spread,” he said.

To boost uptake, Omolo is in talks with county transport and environment departments, and matatu saccos, whom he hopes will share his car waste bags idea with PSV owners.

“This will help prevent the dirtying of towns and help counties reduce the amount of money they spend unclogging drains and hiring people to clean the streets.”

Omolo also plans to approach politicians in the run-up to elections to use his bags as campaign materials, rather than print posters that end up messing up walls and cluttering streets.

“Imagine passengers in a matatu seeing your face and manifesto on the seat in front of them during the duration of their journey,” Omolo said.