Building a Movement in Uganda

Nirere Sadrach is a Ugandan activist and founder of #EndPlasticPollution, an initiative with the aim of demanding greater corporate action and responsibility from companies which generate plastics to end the plastic pollution crisis. He's also an alumnus of 10 Billion Strong and participated in our very first program in 2019, our Environmental Leadership Accelerator. He's shared some details about his work with our community below. 

You’re the founder of End Plastic Pollution Now. Can you tell us why and how you became an environmental activist?

Plastic pollution has become pervasive in our environment and poses a threat to our livelihoods. I became an environmental activist to be part of the people driving solutions to save us and our environment from plastic pollution. 

What are the big goals of End Plastic Pollution Now?

We want to become a more vibrant youth movement that is demanding corporate action and responsibility to end plastic pollution. We work towards creating a space for educating and empowering people to champion the campaign to end the status quo with plastic. We need more of us.

What is the overall situation like in Uganda for environmental issues?Are there resources or support for the type of work that you are doing?

Uganda is facing serious environmental destruction at an alarming rate. Plastic waste can be found in our villages, towns, cities, rivers and lakes. Over 51% of the plastic waste generated daily is left uncollected. On the other hand, only 8% of Uganda's natural forest cover is left as our climate continues to break down. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to tap into resources and support both at local and international levels. End Plastic Pollution Initiative is a people's supported initiative.

What are some of the biggest challenges that you face in your work? And what are your strategies for overcoming them?

We want to scale up and cover more parts of the country and venture into more research and data studies to inform the fight against plastics. We are developing strategic partnerships and collaborations to achieve this. 

Starting something new takes courage and ambition. Can you share how you decided to start something that you knew would be difficult?

I never focused on the difficult part of it. I made sure I explored all possible ways for me to do it, including joining the 10 Billion Strong Environmental Leadership Accelerator program in 2019 to help me learn about environmental leadership.