FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Young volunteers from the Young Sustainability Initiative have spent the past 100 days clearing large volumes of plastic debris and other waste from Lumley Beach in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, drawing attention to the country’s escalating environmental crisis.
The initiative aims to reduce marine pollution, prevent flooding, and raise public awareness while creating income opportunities for participants. Volunteers highlighted how waste discarded on city streets clogs gutters and drainage systems during the rainy season before washing up on beaches and harming marine ecosystems.
“ When waste is thrown on the streets, it eventually ends up in the sea during the rainy season. It blocks gutters and drainage systems and finally reaches the beach. So please government, we need enforcement,” said Albert Brewah, a spokesperson for the group.
Funds raised through a GoFundMe campaign enabled the volunteers to provide resources for workers and install bins made from recycled tires at key locations along Lumley Beach. The collected waste is sorted and transported for processing as part of broader efforts to mitigate flooding in the city.
After collection from the beach and other sites, the waste is taken to the Kingtown Bombay official dumping site in Freetown. There, young people saw through plastic bottles and other plastic items, which are then weighed and transferred to a facility for further processing.
“ When we collect it, we will then come and weigh it here where we’re standing. And then after weighing, we will transfer it to our facility. In our facility, we will then shred the plastic and mix it with sand and stone to then produce building blocks to be used for construction,” explained a volunteer involved in the sorting and recycling process.
According to the World Bank, Sierra Leone generates approximately 130,000 tons of plastic waste each year, yet only about 5% is properly recycled by domestic companies.
Government officials acknowledged the scale of the challenge.
“ Waste management again has to be an individual responsibility. So the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with all sectors, the private sector and several other entities who have expressed a keen interest in addressing this challenge. The Freetown City Council as well were all engaged in various ways to address this challenge and bring as many people as possible on board,” said a government spokesperson.
Experts warned that changing consumption patterns, inadequate infrastructure, and a growing population mean Freetown faces a long-term struggle in managing waste effectively.
The volunteers’ 100-day effort underscores both the urgency of the plastic waste problem and the potential for community-driven solutions that combine environmental cleanup with economic benefits through recycling and construction material production.
