By Takudzwa Washaya
One man’s meat is another man’s poison and more aptly in the case of Raphael Moyana, one man’s garbage is another man’s money.
Moyana, (42) resides in Mabvuku, a high density suburb some 15 kilometers South East of Harare’s Central Business District.
For the past 28 years, he has been carving a niche in the recycling arena. He is well known for the manufacturing of toy bikes, using litter as raw materials.
Moyana says he was moved by tonnes of garbage dumped by people and saw it fit to conserve the environment through the making of toy bikes.
“There is a lot of rubbish which people are dumping,” he narrates. “If we leave it like that we will end up having a mount Kilimanjaro of rubbish and in a way we saw it fit to be technologically oriented as we started the making of toy bikes”
His desire to preserve the environment has seen him being internationally recognized as he has exported some of the products to neighboring countries as well as Europe.
The 42-year old man has been able to sustain his family through his exploits.
“I have been in many African states, supplying my products which l made from litter,” he said pointing to one of the toy bikes which he made. “I exported a lot to Europe and this has been my means of survival.”
The affable Moyana aspires to make moving engines from the same raw materials and is optimistic that this will reduce the garbage crisis which Harare is facing.
“By March l should have make a moving motor bike, maybe people will start to appreciate something good coming out of litter,” he added.
In 2023 President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster regarding the garbage crisis in the capital, allowing central government to take over waste management, a duty which has been normally carried out by the Harare city council.
The waste management crisis has seen a boom in recycling industry which has become lucrative to many poverty stricken residents of Harare, a city which was well known for its cleanliness.
Daily, individuals move around the city collecting material for recycling from rubbish bins and dump sites.
According to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), recycling in Zimbabwe skyrocketed from 50% in 2019 to 200% in 2023.
This has seen people like Moyana taking recycling seriously for survival.
