27/11/2025
A Big thank you to Total Energy for allow our company to be a part of this project
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞? 🔅💡
🌱✨ 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 — 𝐀 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚
This question sparked a year-long journey full of trial, error, redesigns and approvals which led us to a milestone I am proud of. Today, I’m excited to share the results of this recycling pilot that shows what’s possible when 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
💡 Introducing From Waste to Worth
A focused circular economy project where we collected defective solar lamps from our various TotalEnergies ranges, dismantled them, recovered their plastic and metal, and transformed them into recycled planters.
♻️ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
🇿🇲 Zambia generates over 1,500+ tonnes of e-waste yearly, often ending up in dumpsites like Chunga—where toxins like cadmium and lead leak into soil and water.
Instead, our pilot delivered measurable impact:
✔ Collected & dismantled 1,373 defective solar lamps
✔ Diverted 1.2 tons of waste from landfills
✔ Avoided 4.2 tons of CO₂ emissions
✔ Prevented release of 5–7 kg lead & 1–2 kg cadmium
✔ Created 30–50 desk planters (or 5–10 large pots) from recovered material
✔ Provided short-term green jobs for young dismantlers & sorters
All recycling was carried out with guidance from the environmental authorities who issued our disposal certificate.
🔥 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭
From Waste to Worth is a clear blueprint for replication. If future waste streams emerge, or if more defective solar lamps reach their end of life, the model is ready. Simple tools. Local talent. Real environmental impact.
🌿 𝐀 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮
• To my Managing Director Salamata BALL and my HOD Luis Vega for allowing me to run with this idea.
• To Kutemba Zama for your invaluable guidance on this project!
• To our recycling partner Waste Master; your skill and innovation made this pilot possible.
• To Thelma Ngosa Musumbulwa my contact at Waste Master; thank you for running with this idea from the start. Even through logistics and approvals, your persistence pushed this pilot to the finish line.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 💪🏾𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.
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Gabriela Bojda
Winnie KIMOTHO -KURIA
