Providing Sustainable Solutions

As we continue our drive to offer protection from mosquito-borne disease at scale, we aim to ensure our efforts are sustainable in every sense of the word.

SC Johnson is exploring new, sustainable recycling models in Rwanda. This work aligns with the ambitious goals the Rwandan government has set out in its Vision 2020 and 7-year plans to transform into a more sustainable country.

SC Johnson and partner, Society for Family Health Rwanda (SFH), conducted a pilot focused on the distribution and collection of SC Johnson’s Mosquito Shield™ spatial repellents. This work was supported by the Rwanda Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Center and the Rusizi district.

As part of the pilot, SFH’s community health workers paired community-wide distribution of more than 520,000 Mosquito Shield™ interventions with a grassroots education programme that highlighted the product’s effectiveness against malaria, as well as the importance of recycling. SFH then implemented a collection model that collected 99.7% of the distributed spatial repellents. They then worked with a local partner to upcycle the plastic from used products into building material. This type of upcycled material is commonly used in Rwanda and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to build homes, schools, churches and community centres.

Our hope is that the partnership-driven model we have piloted here — combining modern waste collection systems, partnerships with local recyclers, and supplemental education and awareness campaigns — can gain more traction in Rwanda and eventually be replicated in other countries.