The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
By the Independent Team
Henry Okumu started recycling used glass into useful products out of innovation and imagination. This was after ten years of training in over five countries including USA and China. He made the first batch of products in 2009 with investment from family savings totaling to about Shs 200 million.
The total worth has since grown to over Shs 550 million. From hospitals, hotels and restaurants, Okumu collects used glass items to the workshop in Bajjo in Mukono where it is. washed and sorted. The glass is then burnt in a furnace. The molten glass is then molded into vases, goblets, tumbles, beer stains, flutes, decanter, oil bottles, candle and cake stands and jugs among others. Okumu has made up to 712 different products from recycled glass including trophies, plates, dishes and blocks that can be used as tiles and items for interior decoration.
Success tips: Fuel your vision with research and dedication
An accountant by profession, Okumu’s greatest inspiration was the lack of a glass recycling industry and the ground training and skills that could enable him to take off. “Many Ugandans rush to invest forgetting that any business thrives on research and making the best out of your efforts,” says Okumu. Okumu hopes to expand his capacity to make use of all waste glass upon acquiring all the necessary machinery and expanding the workforce.
