Waste Management & Sanitation
Cleaner public spaces, localized waste interception, sanitation, measurement and practical operating systems.
About YSI Africa
Building environmental systems that work in the real world.
YSI Africa is the public brand of Young Sustainability Initiative, a legally incorporated Sierra Leonean environmental nonprofit. We connect direct field action with measurement, technical development, institutional coordination and evidence-led operating models.
Community-drivenLocal realities shape practical solutions.
IndependentYSI protects its institutional integrity.
Evidence-ledClaims and decisions should be supportable.
Systems-focusedField action should lead to better operating models.
Why YSI exists
Field action is the beginning—not the final product.
Environmental problems such as unmanaged waste, coastal pollution and wetland degradation are not solved by isolated activities alone. YSI is being built to understand the operating problem, test practical responses, document what happens and develop systems that can improve over time.
Cleanup gives YSI direct access to real waste streams, field conditions, community realities and operating constraints. That experience becomes a foundation for measurement, recovery testing, technical validation and stronger environmental infrastructure.
The long-term objective is not to run occasional campaigns. It is to build practical environmental systems that can be proven locally and replicated when the evidence supports expansion.
What we focus on
Four connected environmental priorities.
YSI concentrates on areas where field action, environmental protection and circular systems can reinforce each other.
Recycling & Circular Economy
Sorting, material recovery, reuse, waste-to-value and responsible resource-recovery pathways.
Coastal & Wetland Protection
Reducing waste leakage, protecting coastal environments and developing evidence-led approaches to wetland recovery.
Community Education & Stewardship
Environmental awareness and participation connected to practical action, local knowledge and long-term stewardship.
How YSI develops systems
Move from activity to evidence to scale.
YSI's development model deliberately slows down before scale. A project should earn the right to expand through evidence, technical validation and institutional fit.
01
Field action & accessWork directly with real environmental conditions and real waste streams.
02
Measure & characterizeTurn experience into data, documented observations and clearer problem definition.
03
Recover & test valueSeparate materials and test realistic recovery, reuse and waste-to-value pathways.
04
Validate technically & institutionallyTest whether the approach is environmentally sound, compliant, operationally workable and economically credible.
05
Replicate only what worksScale proven systems—not assumptions.
Leadership & operating team
Confirmed responsibility, without inflating titles.
These are the current leadership and operating roles already documented by YSI. They are not presented as the organization's governing board unless authoritative corporate records support that designation.
Trevor Victor Young
Founder & Managing DirectorOrganizational strategy, institutional development, fundraising direction, partnership development, public representation and executive oversight.
Huldah Imah-Paul
Technical ManagerTechnical operating function within YSI's environmental programme development.
Albert Brewah
Field Operations ManagerField implementation and operating coordination for YSI activities in Sierra Leone.
Christiana Kamara
Office ManagerAdministrative and office-support function within YSI's operating structure.
Senior advisors
Experience that strengthens the institution early.
YSI is building a small senior advisory network around practical technical, programme, partnership and resource-mobilization needs. Advisor roles are personal advisory relationships and do not automatically create institutional partnerships with an advisor's employer or professional affiliation.
Samuel Young
Programs, Partnerships & Resource MobilizationSupports YSI with senior-level programme, partnership and resource-mobilization perspective as the organization builds its institutional base and project pipeline.
Dr. Boniface Yeboah Antwi
Polymer Scientist · Materials & Manufacturing SpecialistDr. Antwi brings senior research experience in polymer science, materials and manufacturing. His advisory contribution is particularly relevant to waste characterization, material quality and testing, resource recovery, laboratory validation and responsible waste-to-value pathways.
External tools & technical relationships
Use the right tools without overstating the relationship.
YSI distinguishes between a technology being used or tested, a technical contact, a prospective collaboration and a formal institutional partnership.
Structured waste-data collection
YSI is preparing to use and test TrashBlitz, associated with 5 Gyres, within its Freetown waste-characterization and circular-resource-recovery work. The current relationship is technical and exploratory, including discussion with 5 Gyres contact Nick Kemble about data collection and possible project collaboration.
YSI does not currently present 5 Gyres as a formal partner unless a documented partnership is established.
Relationship standard: public language will identify tools, technical contacts and prospective collaborators accurately. A target, technical exchange or planned technology use does not become a partnership simply because YSI is engaging with the organization.
Institutional discipline
Credibility comes before scale.
YSI is young as an institution, so credibility has to be built deliberately. That means being precise about evidence, relationships, project status and authority.
01Evidence before claimsYSI's historical 20,000+ kg public impact claim is supported by documented field activity; the original mass-calculation record is under reconstruction.
02Real relationships onlyTargets, prospects, technology contacts and technical exchanges are not automatically described as partners or funders.
03Clear project statusCompleted field work, development-stage projects and technical hypotheses are labeled separately.
04Compliance before interventionPhysical environmental work should proceed only through the applicable authority and technical gates.
Where the strategy is becoming real
Current YSI work.
These pages show the transition from field experience toward structured environmental systems.
Development-stageWaste ProjectLocalized waste interception, measurement, sorting, recovery testing and evidence-led replication.Explore project →Pre-design / evidence acquisitionAberdeen CreekWetland protection, authority coordination, baseline evidence, waste-leakage analysis and ecological recovery planning.Explore project →Documented workEvidence & Field WorkYSI's historical public impact claim, field documentation and evidence standards behind public-facing statements.Review evidence →
Contact YSI Africa
Build practical environmental solutions with us.
YSI welcomes relevant communication from funders, technical experts, public institutions, businesses, researchers and community organizations interested in credible environmental systems in Sierra Leone.
Contact Usinfo@ysiafrica.org