Eco Brixs
Project country: Uganda
Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations globally, with the disposal of plastic waste a catastrophic problem. No formal waste collection services exist, resulting in over 600 tonnes of plastic being disposed of everyday (90% in unsafe landfills or being burnt), significantly harming Uganda environmentally and economically.
In addition, unemployment is high in Uganda and a quarter of the population live in poverty, with those from marginalised communities (such as women, young people and people with disabilities) even more likely to experience joblessness.
Eco Brixs was established in 2017 to address this urgent plastic waste problem. Eco Brixs generate employment opportunities for these marginalised groups through plastic waste collection, with the community members being paid per Kg of waste collected. This plastic waste is then taken to the Eco Brixs processing hub where it is recycled into a range of eco-products including bricks, fence posts, ‘game-changer’ boats and more. This virtuous cycle creates green jobs and cleans up the environment in unison.
In 8 years, Eco Brixs has recycled over 2,600 tonnes of plastic waste and created sustainable livelihoods for over 4,700 marginalised community members. As of 2025, 72% of plastic collectors are young people (aged 16-35) and 35% women, with a target of 50% women by the end of 2026. At the processing factory in Masaka, 50% of the team live with a disability.
In 2025-2026, the Eurofins Foundation is supporting the project “Increasing income-earning potential for 3,500 marginalised plastic collectors in Masaka, Uganda.”
This project therefore aims to focus on two core areas:
1) Improving livelihoods for vulnerable community members in and around Masaka; and
2) Expanding the types of plastic that are recycled to include rigid and flexible plastics.
The project will be initiated through community engagement. Eco Brixs will undertake awareness-raising sessions, such as workshops and radio promotions with existing waste collectors, buy-back centre staff, and community members. They will also train the existing network of waste collectors to incorporate rigid and flexible plastics into their current business model.
Furthermore, they will be trained in financial management and the use of the Waste Recovery App, which would enable them to receive . The project aims to increase average monthly income amongst the current network in Masaka by 20% increase.
Eco Brixs will also add an additional 1,400 new waste collectors to the network.
Eco Brixs will engage with 50 vulnerable members of the current network to establish village savings and loans groups (VSL) which enable supplementary income in addition to earnings from plastic.
Funds will be used to increase plastic income earning potential among the current network of 2,100 Resource Recovery Agents (RRA) in Masaka, as well as training an additional 1,400 new RRA's. Funds from Eurofins will be directed towards financial management training, purchase of Personal Protection Equipment to ensure collectors can do their work safely, awareness raising to engage collectors as well training the network on the digital waste recovery app. Furthermore Eurofins will help fund the training of 50 women in Village Savings and Loans group to increase income earning potential.
This project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
