Zambian teen grabs attention for plastic-based fuel creation amid safety concerns

The young Zambian, Jowetti Mwambazi from Chipata City, an area in the eastern province of Zambia caught the attention of the public when his discovery was celebrated on social media by the city’s mayor George Mwanza.

According to Mwanza’s post on social media, the 19-year-old “knows what he is doing and speaks with courage and conviction” he added that to support his discovery, an undisclosed amount was awarded to young Jowetti to “patent his scientific idea with PACRA” a patent and company registration agency located in Lusaka, Zambia. “in the containers is petrol and oil produced by Jowetti. his community have testified that his petrol was tried in 5 motorbikes and it works, no complaint recorded from motorbikers so far,” Mwanza wrote on his official Facebook account.

Jowetti is not the first individual to have come out with such a creation. There have been several individuals from various countries on the continent who have come out with such solutions.

In 2022, South Africa’s state-owned SABC reported the news of Sibusiso Shabangu a South African man who manufactures oil, petrol, and gas from recycled materials.

However, later that year the same publication reported that Shabangu had been instructed by his district municipality in Mpumalanga, a province in eastern South Africa to halt the production of plastic waste-based fuel without a license.

‘’We have advised him before, saying no, saying you should just apply for the license or the permission otherwise we not going to allow you. The environmental office in the province are the ones who have the right to permit you to do so,” a spokesperson of the district is quoted by the SABC.

The response from the public on social media has been varied. While some have praised the creation of Jowetti, Shabangu and others who have come out with similar innovations, others have raised questions about the dangers of the emissions from these creations.