Pretoria - Through strategic partnerships, waste collection in South Africa has continued to thrive and demonstrate that waste is not just trash, but an economy that can benefit young people across the country.
Even though South Africa, like the rest of the global community, has faced a recession due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the waste reclamation sector has managed to thrive, thanks in large part to projects such as the Zonda Insila Programme (ZIP) in Mpumalanga.
Through the programme, informal waste pickers were empowered and given the resources to grow their fledgling enterprises into legitimate SMMEs, creating jobs and instilling a sense of pride in the sector for the hard work being done to divert waste from the country’s bursting landfills.
According to the latest available statistics, South Africans generate roughly 122 million tons of waste each year. Of this waste, only 10% is recycled or recovered for other uses, while at least 90% is landfilled or dumped illegally.
The programme launched in Breyten in 2019 with just four projects, now boasts 14 projects supporting 240 community members across the Nkangala, Gert Sibande and Ehlanzeni district municipalities in Mpumalanga.
“With the level of interest shown and the growing number of informal waste pickers, there is no doubt the programme is encouraging more and more young people to shift their thinking towards waste as a form of potential income generation. To say waste is trash is outdated,” said ZIP co-ordinator Linah Duduzile Ndala.
“Waste is not trash, it is an economy. The role of stakeholders like municipalities, the Polyethylene Terephthalate Recycling Company (Petco) and the province is important because they need to take the lead,” she said.
Petco CEO Cheri Scholtz said there were few municipal separation-at-source collection systems, hence their efforts in roping in interested municipalities to establish collection projects and expand polyethylene terephthalate (Pet) collection into new areas.
Scholtz said this year so far, they had conducted 28 training workshops for 1 357 waste pickers in eight provinces, and a further three accredited business training workshops.
“We help grow sustainable businesses and sponsor infrastructure and equipment to unlock collections and improve the quantity and quality of post-consumer Pet collected.”
Pretoria News