Mwenda Mutopola, Zambia

I am a 26-year-old Zambian male that recently graduated with a degree in medicine and surgery. I am passionate about waste management, health, health management information systems, sustainability and the impact these particular processes have on global, regional and local health. I’m a highly motivated individual and a part of innovation towards a holistic approach towards good outcomes in health, population and environment. Outside of this, I have an immense interest in agriculture, particularly livestock and crop farming, and circular systems.

Green Wing Co-Op is a community led waste management initiative. that empowers the residents to take ownership of their waste by collecting and segregating their own organic waste. The enterprise provides residents with eco-friendly bins in which they put their organic waste. This waste is collected at each household by employed community champions that operate e-rickshaws. This waste is then brought to a composting and packaging facility, which creates standardized and packaged organic fertilizer. The fertilizer is then sold to farmers. The sales of fertilizer generate income that covers costs of the system – the investment in equipment, salaries to the community champions (collectors), while covering other operational costs, while also providing incentives for the residents (waste generators). Incentives may be subsidies on farmer produced crops or as cash prizes for continual participation.