Every fixed buy-back point we now run started somewhere smaller and less certain. In Roysambu's case, that starting point was, in a real sense, a single resident who began sorting and bringing plastic to us informally well before we had a scheduled weekly point set up there at all.
How the informal relationship began
Before Roysambu had a dedicated buy-back schedule, this resident had been sorting recyclable plastic from her own household and a few neighbours', initially bringing it directly to our main Kasarani point on an irregular basis whenever she'd accumulated enough to make the trip worthwhile. It wasn't a formal arrangement on either side — simply a resident who'd decided sorting and selling plastic was worth the effort, well before a closer, dedicated option existed for her area.
What her consistency told us
Her repeated, voluntary trips to Kasarani, well before Roysambu had its own point, were an early and genuinely useful signal that demand for buy-back selling in Roysambu existed independent of convenience — if someone was willing to make an inconvenient trip regularly, it suggested a closer, properly scheduled point would likely see considerably stronger participation once the friction was removed. This is a similar kind of demand signal to what later informed our decision to open a Githurai point, after noticing residents there making the same kind of inconvenient trip to existing points.
What changed once Roysambu got its own fixed point
Once we established a weekly Tuesday schedule directly in Roysambu, her participation shifted from occasional, effortful trips to a routine, easy weekly habit, and, notably, the volume she brought in increased substantially now that the barrier of an inconvenient trip had been removed. She also, in the early months, became something of an informal reference point for other residents curious about how buy-back selling worked, having already been doing it longer than almost anyone else in the area.
What this story illustrates about how our network has grown
Roysambu's buy-back point, now one of our most consistently high-volume locations, effectively started with the informal, individual effort of one resident willing to sort and travel before any formal infrastructure existed to support her. This pattern — individual demand preceding and informing formal infrastructure — has repeated across much of our growth, from the earliest informal collection route before CBO registration to the more recent Githurai buy-back point opening.
Why we think individual stories like this matter
Our annual reflection on the numbers behind our work covers growth in aggregate — households served, kilograms of plastic moved through buy-back. Numbers like that can obscure how much of the underlying growth actually traces back to specific individual decisions and persistence, often well before we as an organisation had caught up with formal infrastructure to support it. We think it's worth naming these individual contributions directly rather than letting them disappear entirely into aggregate statistics.
What she's doing now
She remains a regular seller at the Roysambu point and has, over time, taken on an informal role helping newer sellers understand sorting expectations when our own staff are occupied weighing other sales — a small, organic extension of the same early advocacy role she took on before the point was even formally established.
What this means for anyone in an area without a nearby buy-back point today
If you're currently making an inconvenient trip to sell sorted plastic because no closer point exists in your area yet, that persistence is genuinely useful information for us, not simply an inconvenience you're absorbing alone. Areas where we observe this kind of informal, effortful demand are exactly the areas we prioritise when considering where our next buy-back point should go.
Why we asked her directly whether we could share this story
We checked with her before publishing this piece, since it's her effort and persistence we're describing, not an achievement of our own we're claiming credit for. She was glad to have it shared, specifically because she felt it might encourage other residents in areas without a nearby buy-back point yet to keep at it, the same way her own early, inconvenient trips eventually led to Roysambu getting its own fixed schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How does Kasarani Waste Solution decide where to open a new buy-back point?
Largely based on demonstrated demand, including residents already making inconvenient trips to existing points, as was the case before both the Roysambu and Githurai points were established.
Can I sell plastic at a buy-back point outside my own village before one opens locally?
Yes, anyone can sell at any of our four current buy-back points regardless of which village they live in.
How can I flag that my area might need its own buy-back point?
Contact us directly, or simply continue bringing sorted plastic to your nearest existing point; consistent participation is itself a strong signal we track.
See our full current buy-back network on our programmes page.