Testing of a Novel, Low Cost Method To Identify Plastic Resins Used for Production of Food and Beverage Packaging in Kisumu, Kenya, and Greater Accra, Ghana, 2022

This data set comprises outcomes of tests and observations conducted to establish the viability of a low-cost method developed to determine the plastic resins used to produce plastic food and beverage packaging. The data were gathered with two aims. First, we aimed to establish whether the outcomes of simple tests and observations were consistent when made by different observers, and secondly we aimed to establish if the observations and tests resulted in the correct identification of resins. Samples comprised rigid packaging items (polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene or polypropylene) and flexible items (polypropylene or low density polyethylene). Data include discrete outcomes of individual observations and tests, plastic resin identification outcomes based on observations and tests, and indication of which outcomes led to correct identification of the resin to hand.<p>According to WHO/UNICEF, whilst 91.8% of urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had access to piped or protected groundwater sources in 2015, only 46.2% had safely managed water available when needed. Vendors provide a key role in supplying urban off-grid populations, with consumption of bottled or bagged water (sachets, water sold in 500ml plastic bags) growing in SSA. Whilst several studies show bottles and bags are usually free from faecal contamination, given that many off-grid urban populations lack solid waste disposal services, when people drink such water, there can be problems disposing of the plastic bags and bottles afterwards.
This project aims to deliver evidence on the different ways that people sell water to off-grid populations and what this means for plastic waste management. We plan to do this in Ghana, where most urban household now drink bagged water, and by way of contrast, Kenya, where the government has banned plastic bags. In this way, we want to widen access to safe water and waste management services among urban off-grid populations, by supporting water-sellers and waste collectors to fill the gaps in municipal services.
Both countries (and many others elsewhere) already have nationwide household surveys that collect data on the food and goods people consume and the services they have. However, as yet, these surveys have not been connected to the problem of waste management. We plan to visit marketplaces, buying foods and then recording packaging and organic waste. By combining this information with the household survey data, we can work out how much domestic waste like plastics gets collected and how much is discarded or burned, ultimately entering the atmosphere or oceans.
In Ghana, we will also survey informal waste collectors in urban Greater Accra. We want to find out how much these small businesses support waste collection and recycling across this urban region (particularly plastic from bagged water), so we can help government identify gaps in waste collection coverage. We also believe highlighting the important role of small waste collectors could lead to greater business support for such collectors. We will also evaluate whether community education campaigns to encourage domestic waste recycling reduce the amount of waste and plastic observed in the local environment. Such campaigns are currently pursued by several local charities with support from the Plastic Waste Management Project.
In Kenya, where water is usually sold in jerrycans rather than bagged, the jerrycan water often gets contaminated. We plan to find out whether this jerrycan water is safer under an arrangement known as delegated management. This involves a water utility passing on management of the piped network to a local business in slum areas, so as to reduce vandalism of pipes and bring water closer to slum-dwellers. We will compare water quality in areas with and without this arrangement to see if it makes the water sold safer. We also plan to bring water-sellers and consumers together to find and test ways of reducing contamination of water between a jerry-can being filled and water being drunk at home. Rather than imposing a solution, we want to work together with vendors and consumers on this issue, but there are for example containers designed to keep water cleaner that we could explore.
Through these activities, we thus plan to develop evidence on different strategies for water-sellers to deliver safer water to people lacking piped connections, whilst managing plastic waste at the same time. In Ghana, this involves trying to increase recycling and waste collection for bagged water, which is relatively safe. In Kenya, this involves trying to reduce contamination of water sold in reusable jerrycans. Alongside our household survey evidence on how domestic waste is managed in slums, this should help governments plan waste and water services in poorer areas of Africa's expanding cities.</p>

本数据集包含为验证一种低成本方法可行性而开展的测试与观测结果，该方法旨在确定用于生产食品饮料塑料包装的塑料树脂（plastic resins）类型。数据收集有两个目标：一是验证不同观测者进行的简单测试与观测结果是否具有一致性；二是验证这些观测与测试能否准确识别树脂类型。样本包括刚性包装制品（聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（polyethylene terephthalate）、高密度聚乙烯或聚丙烯）和柔性包装制品（聚丙烯或低密度聚乙烯）。数据内容涵盖单个观测与测试的离散结果、基于观测与测试的塑料树脂识别结果，以及指明哪些结果可实现对目标树脂的正确识别。

根据世界卫生组织/联合国儿童基金会（WHO/UNICEF）的数据，2015年撒哈拉以南非洲（Sub-Saharan Africa, SSA）91.8%的城市家庭可获得管道供水或受保护的地下水源，但仅46.2%的家庭能在需要时获得安全管理的饮用水。商贩在为城市离网人口供水方面发挥关键作用，SSA地区瓶装水或袋装水（sachets，即以500毫升塑料袋销售的水）的消费量持续增长。尽管多项研究表明，瓶装水和袋装水通常无粪便污染，但由于许多离网城市人口缺乏固体废物处理服务，人们饮用此类水后，塑料包装袋和瓶子的后续处置会成为问题。本项目旨在提供证据，说明人们向离网人口售水的不同方式及其对塑料废物管理的影响。我们计划在加纳（目前大多数城市家庭饮用袋装水）和肯尼亚（政府已禁止塑料袋，作为对比）开展此项研究。通过支持售水商和废物收集者填补市政服务空白，我们希望扩大城市离网人口获得安全饮用水和废物管理服务的渠道。

这两个国家（以及其他许多国家）已开展全国性家庭调查，收集人们消费的食品、商品及所享服务的数据。然而，这些调查尚未与废物管理问题关联。我们计划走访市场，购买食品并记录包装和有机废物情况。通过将这些信息与家庭调查数据相结合，我们可计算出塑料等生活垃圾的收集量、丢弃或焚烧量（最终进入大气或海洋）。

在加纳，我们还将对大阿克拉地区的非正式废物收集者进行调查。我们希望了解这些小型企业在该城市区域（尤其是袋装水产生的塑料）的废物收集和回收中所起的作用，从而帮助政府识别废物收集覆盖的空白区域。我们还认为，强调小型废物收集者的重要作用可使其获得更多商业支持。此外，我们将评估鼓励家庭废物回收的社区教育活动是否能减少当地环境中的废物和塑料量。此类活动目前由多个当地慈善机构在塑料废物管理项目（Plastic Waste Management Project）的支持下开展。

在肯尼亚，水通常以Jerry桶（jerrycans）而非袋装形式销售，但Jerry桶中的水常被污染。我们计划探究在委托管理（delegated management）模式下，此类Jerry桶水是否更安全。该模式指水务公司将贫民窟地区的管道网络管理委托给当地企业，以减少管道破坏行为并让贫民窟居民更易获得水。我们将比较采用与未采用该模式地区的水质，以验证其是否能提高售水安全性。此外，我们计划召集售水商和消费者共同寻找并测试减少Jerry桶装水后至家庭饮用前污染的方法。我们并非强制推行解决方案，而是希望与商贩和消费者合作解决此问题，但也可探索例如设计更清洁的储水容器等方案。

通过这些活动，我们计划形成关于售水商向无管道连接人群提供更安全饮用水同时管理塑料废物的不同策略的证据。在加纳，这包括尝试增加相对安全的袋装水的回收和废物收集；在肯尼亚，则包括尝试减少可重复使用Jerry桶售水的污染。结合我们关于贫民窟生活垃圾管理的家庭调查证据，这将帮助政府在非洲扩张中城市的贫困地区规划废物和供水服务。