Solid Waste Alliance Sierra Leone

27/07/2026

DAY 27 - SWAP PLASTIC FLOWER POTS FOR CLAY POTS🏺

Plastic pots heat up, crack, and after 1 year they become trash that never goes away. Clay pots breathe, cool the roots, and return to the earth!

Our mamas have been making clay pots for generations. Let's bring it back.

Why Clay is Better:
✅ Keeps plants cooler — roots don't cook in the sun
✅ Absorbs extra water — no root rot
✅ Lasts 10+ years, and when it breaks, it becomes soil — not microplastic
✅ Supports local potters — money stays in , not for Chinese plastic
✅ No chemicals leaking into your food plants

Today's Challenge:
1. Take one plant from plastic pot
2. Transplant to clay pot (or broken bucket + clay lining)
3. Post your photo!

Plastic Free July

22/07/2026

Day 22: Plastic Broom → Grass / Palm Broom

Sweep Smart, Sweep Local 🧹🌾

Why grass / palm broom?
Plastic brooms lose bristles. Every sweep = microplastics in your dust, your gutter, your soil. When they break, they go to dumpsite and burn toxic smoke.
Grass broom and palm broom are made in Sierra Leone , by Sierra Leonean hands. Zero plastic, strong sweep, biodegradable. When it finishes, it returns to earth. Plus you support local women and weavers, not plastic factories.

How to join Day 22:
1. Switch it — Use grass broom for inside, palm broom for yard / compound
2. Buy Local - Buy from a market woman or broom maker today
3. Snap it — Photo of your palm broom vs the plastic one it replaced
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “My sweep is plastic-free. I retired ___ plastic brooms today.”

Today’s goal: 300 plastic brooms retired from homes and shops.

SWA truth: The cleanest sweep is the one that doesn’t pollute after cleaning. Local is sustainable.

Comment 🧹 if you sweep with grass/palm. Tag your mother, cleaner, or school. Everyone sweeps every day.

19/07/2026

Day 19 Challenge: Swap plastic clothespins for wooden pins.

Why wooden pins?
Plastic pins fade in the sun. They snap and litter every compound, look under your line. You’ll find 20 broken pieces.
Wooden pins grip tighter in Harmattan wind, don’t get hot in the sun, last for years, and when they die, they become firewood or soil not microplastic in your yard.

How to join Day 19:
1. Switch it — Hang your wash with wooden or bamboo pins
2. Count it — Pick up broken plastic pins around your compound. How many? That’s why we’re swapping.
3. Snap it — Photo of your line with wooden pins holding clothes
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “I retired ….. plastic pins today. My line is plastic-free for …… months now.”

Mama + laundry workers challenge: You pin more than anyone. Show us your line.

Today’s goal: 500 plastic pins retired from lines.

SWA truth: Plastic Free lives on the washing line too. Small tool, big habit, zero plastic.

Comment 🧺 if your line is wood-pinned. Tag a mother, laundry man, or neighbor, their pins break too.

18/07/2026

Day 18: Hang It Right 👔🪵 Open your wardrobe. That’s today’s plastic battlefield.

Day 16 Challenge: Swap plastic hangers for wooden, bamboo, or metal hangers.

Why wooden hangers?
Plastic hangers snap under weight. The hooks break. 1mWooden hangers hold heavier clothes, last 20+ years, don’t bend suits or stretch dresses, and when they finally retire, they can be repaired or biodegrade. Buy once, hang forever.

How to join Day 18
1. Switch it — Use wooden, bamboo, or metal wire hangers in your closet, shop, or tailoring stall
2. Snap it — Photo of your closet with wooden hangers or the broken plastic ones you’re retiring
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “My clothes hung on plastic for …years. Now they hang on wood that’ll last ..more.”

Tailors + second-hand sellers challenge: You hang more than anyone. One set of wooden hangers saves you money every year. Show us your shop. SWA will feature “Plastic-Free Tailors & Boutique Shops” this week.

Today’s goal: 200 plastic hangers retired from wardrobes.

SWA truth: Plastic hangers are fashion’s silent waste. Cheap to buy, expensive for the planet. Durable clothes deserve durable hangers.

Comment 👔 if your closet is plastic-hanger free. Tag your tailor, or boutique owner, they hang more than anyone.

17/07/2026

Day 17 plastic swap Challenge:
Swap plastic hair combs for wooden or bamboo combs.

Why wooden combs?
Plastic combs snap. The teeth break off and end up in drains, gutters, and eventually the ocean. They create static, pull hair, and last 3 months if you’re lucky.
Wooden combs are gentle on hair, reduce static, last for years, and when they finally break down, they return to soil, not the sea. No microplastics in your hair or waterways.

How to join Day 17
1. Switch it — Use a wooden, bamboo, or neem wood comb for your hair routine
2. Gift it — Buy one for your sister, daughter, mother, or barber. Plastic breaks, wood lasts
3. Snap it— Photo of your wooden comb next to the plastic one it replaced
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “No more broken teeth — in my comb or in drains. I’ve used this for ___ months.”

Barbers + salons challenge: Hair pros touch combs all day. One wooden comb outlasts 50 plastic ones. Show us your plastic-free setup.

Today’s goal:*150 plastic combs retired from homes and shops.

SWA truth:Personal care is plastic’s quiet hiding spot. Toothbrushes, combs, cotton buds , small items, massive waste. Swap the small stuff. It adds up.

Comment 🪮 if you’ve gone wood. Tag your barber, hairdresser, or that friend who always breaks combs 😊 they need this.

15/07/2026

Plastic Swap Challenge Day 14: Funnel It Right 🛢️🔄

Day 1: Bags ✓ Day 2: Bottles ✓ Day 3: Sachets ✓ Day 4: Straws ✓ Day 5: Takeaway ✓ Day 6: Sachet water ✓ Day 7: Straws ✓ Day 8: Wrap ✓ Day 9: Lighters ✓ Day 10: Buckets ✓ Day 11: Filters ✓ Day 12: Tape ✓ Day 13: Dustpan ✓
Day 14: The tiny tool in every kitchen, shop, and garage gets a swap.

Day 14 Challenge:
Swap plastic funnels for metal, tin, or stainless steel funnels.

Why metal funnels?
Plastic funnels crack. They stain. They melt near heat. Pour hot palm oil or kerosene, they warp and end up as trash.
Metal funnels last decades. They handle hot liquids, don’t hold smells, and when they finally retire, they get recycled not dumped. One metal funnel = 30+ plastic funnels saved.

How to join Day 14:
1. Switch it — Use metal/tin/steel funnels for oil, water, kerosene, engine oil, palm oil, or shop use
2. Fix it — Old metal funnel with dents? Hammer it out. It still works
3. Snap it — Photo of your metal funnel in action, kitchen, market, workshop, garage
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “Pouring with zero plastic waste. My funnel is older than …..

Market + garage challenge: Fuel sellers, palm oil sellers, mechanics, cooks, you pour more than anyone. Show us your metal setup. SWA will feature “Durable Pourers” this week.

Today’s goal: 100 plastic funnels retired.

SWA truth: Plastic Free means tools that don’t become trash. If it touches heat, oil, or fuel, plastic shouldn’t be near it anyway.

Comment 🛢️ if your funnel is metal. Tag a market woman, mechanic, or cook, they know funnels best.

15/07/2026

Plastic-Free Symposium: Makeni Shows Up 💪🇸🇱♻️

Big talk. Real solutions. Makeni is ready.

We just wrapped a successful Plastic-Free Symposium in Makeni and the room was full of people who actually move waste policy, not just talk about it.

Who was in the room:
✅ Makeni City Council
✅ Bombali District Council
✅ Tonkolili District Council
✅ EPA-SL Makeni Division
✅ SWA-SL members + community leaders
✅ Market associations, youth groups, NGOs, private sector and many others

What we tackled:
1. Plastic waste challenges — from blocked drains to burning dumps, we named the real problems Makeni faces daily
2. Alternatives that work — local, affordable swaps already happening in our markets + homes
3. Innovative solutions — collection models, reuse systems, and business ideas keeping plastic out of the environment
4. Policy gaps + next steps — what councils, EPA, and communities can do together to enforce and scale

To our speakers: Thank you. You didn’t bring theory; you brought data, experience, and hard truths. That’s how we build a plastic-free Makeni.

Makeni, you showed up. Now we show what’s possible.

Tag someone who was there. Share one insight you’re taking back to your community.

15/07/2026

14/07/2026

Day 13 Plastic Swap Challenge: Sweep Smart 🧹

Day 1: Bags ✓ Day 2: Bottles ✓ Day 3: Sachets ✓ Day 4: Straws ✓ Day 5: Takeaway ✓ Day 6: Sachet water ✓ Day 7: Straws ✓ Day 8: Wrap ✓ Day 9: Lighters ✓ Day 10: Buckets ✓ Day 11: Filters ✓ Day 12: Tape ✓
Day 13: The tool you use every day deserves a swap too.

Day 13 Challenge: Swap cracked plastic dustpans for metal or wooden dustpans.

Why ditch plastic dustpans?
They split. The edge warps. They crack when you step on them. 6 months later they turn gutter trash.
Metal and wood dustpans sweep for years. They don’t bend, they don’t break, and when they finally wear out, metal gets recycled and wood biodegrades. No microplastics in the dust you’re cleaning up.

How to join Day 13:
1. Choose it — Use a metal, tin, or wooden dustpan at home, shop, school, or market stall
2. Fix it — Got a metal dustpan with a loose handle? Repair it instead of replacing with plastic
3. Snap it — Photo of your metal/wood dustpan in action — sweeping home, shop, or compound
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “My dustpan picks up dirt, not leaves it behind. ___ years and counting.”

Market + school challenge:Cleaners, janitors, market women, show us your setup. One durable dustpan can outlast 20 plastic ones. SWA will feature “ Durable Cleaners” this week.

Today’s goal: 75 plastic dustpans kept out of waste stream.

SWA truth: Plastic Free isn’t just what we throw away. It’s what we choose to keep. Tools should last.

Comment 🧹 if your dustpan is built to last. Tag a cleaner, shop owner, or school, they sweep more than anyone.

13/07/2026

Day 12: Seal It Sustainable 📦🌿

Day 1: Bags ✓ Day 2: Bottles ✓ Day 3: Sachets ✓ Day 4: Straws ✓ Day 5: Takeaway ✓ Day 6: Sachet water ✓ Day 7: Straws ✓ Day 8: Wrap ✓ Day 9: Lighters ✓ Day 10: Buckets ✓ Day 11: Filters ✓
Day 12: If you ship it, pack it, or wrap it — this one’s for you.

Day 12 Challenge:
Swap plastic packaging tape for paper tape, kraft tape, or string.

Why paper tape?
Plastic tape can’t be recycled. It snaps, peels, and becomes microplastic.
Paper tape seals strong, tears easy, and goes straight into compost or paper recycling with the box. No waste left behind.

How to join Day 12:
1. Switch it — Use paper/kraft tape for parcels, shop packaging, or moving boxes
2. Tie it — Old-school works: string, twine, or cloth strips to secure boxes
3. Snap it — Photo of your package sealed plastic-free.
4. Post it — Tag
5. Caption: “I shipped/packed ___ boxes today with zero plastic tape”.

Today’s goal: 200 meters of plastic tape refused.

SWA truth: Tape is tiny, but every box sealed in plastic = another piece that won’t break down. Plastic Free means rethinking the stuff nobody sees.

Comment 📦 if you’re sealing plastic-free today. Tag a business, courier, airport staff that wraps luggages or shop that moves boxes , they tape more than anyone 😊.