MADE IN KENYA: How Baus Taka leverages technology to manage plastic waste in Mombasa's Old Town

In the island county of Mombasa, plastic pollution is one of the primary sources of marine pollution in the Indian Ocean. This has raised major concerns as it endangers marine life and makes coastal beaches inaccessible.

To combat this, several enterprises are now collecting and recycling plastic waste from the ocean. One such enterprise is Baus Taka, which uniquely leverages technology to properly manage waste in Mombasa’s Old Town.

"Baus Taka is a tech-integrated waste management enterprise based here in Mombasa county and we are on a mission to combat marine plastic pollution. We leverage technology, which is the Baus Taka app, and a USSD platform which is integrated into the app to streamline waste from the source, which could be from residential homes, corporates, commercial institutions, so the waste is streamlined from source all the way to recycling centres," Dr. Tayba says.

Old Town residents looking to have their waste collected only need to download the app, log into it and through GPS integration, the app picks the location and Baus Taka agents collect the waste. 

"The Baus Taka app has 4 main features; you are able to book waste management services on the go, it works just like Uber. We have a plastic waste donation feature and the sell feature, you are able to sell plastic waste to us and you are paid a cash incentive. The third feature is the illegal waste dumping reporting feature; all you need to do is take a live picture with your smartphone and upload it on the Baus Taka app," she adds.

The collected plastic waste is then supplied to plastic recyclers who make different products. 

Baus Taka has particularly embarked on sensitising women within Old Town on proper waste management, as Dr. Tayba believes women are the drivers of change in the community. 

"This way as an ambassador your primary goal is to ensure that you are advocating for, championing and promoting sustainable waste management practices at source, thereby reducing illegal dumping and you are also promoting the circular economy principles," Dr. Tayba further says.

Baus Taka has significantly contributed to proper waste management within this UNESCO heritage centre, and by charging a fee to corporates and commercial businesses, she is raising money to scale operations.