Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Infrastructure Services in the City of Johannesburg Cllr Mpho Moerane joined the Executive Mayor of the City of Joburg Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo and the Minister for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy in a certificate-awarding ceremony to six co-operatives whose recycling efforts are preserving and protecting the environment and contributing exceptionally in advancing the culture of recycling in the city today on the eve of National Recycling Day 19 September 2020.
The ceremony took place during a significant week in South Africa as the country celebrates National Recycling Week (14-19 September).
Each year, more than 120 000 volunteers participate in clean-up campaigns during the National Clean-up and Recycle week in South Africa, however, the number of participants' in clean-up campaigns were constrained by the outbreak of the Covid-19.
In the last reporting period, recycling initiatives diverted about 218 000 tons of waste from the city's landfill, saving over R40 million of disposal cost. Recycling is a growing industry in the country and has the potential of reducing the high levels of unemployment.
According to a Plastic South Africa report dated 16 September 2020, plastic waste recycling provided employment to 7 800 people in 2018. These figures only relate to the recycling of plastic materials. A 2017 study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) estimates that R712. 5 million in economic value could be unlocked from the optimal collection of waste material for recycling.
Recycling benefits the environment in the following ways:
- Reduces the amount of waste to landfills;
- Conserves natural resources;
- Increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of materials;
- Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials; and
In an effort to inculcate a culture of recycling among the residents of the City, Pikitup has introduced the separation at source programme. The programme encourages residents and other stakeholders to separate recyclable materials from source. Plastic bags are given to residents to ensure that the recyclable materials are placed inside the recycling bags for collection.
This programme has been made mandatory in certain residential areas in the City. Consequently, in the last financial year ended in June 2020 the following waste diversion tonnages were recorded:
- Green waste diversion resulted in 70 007 tons were diverted from landfill sites;
- Builders rubble recorded 13 232 tons; and
- Dry waste diversion resulted in 135 385 tons being diverted away from landfill sites, both by Pikitup and private sector initiatives.
Despite, the above waste diversion rates, the City still faces the grim possibility of running out of landfill sites in the next four and a half years. This prospect calls on all residents to improve and intensify recycling initiatives in order to preserve the life span of our landfill sites and also protect our environment.
“Today, is not about the City but about the six co-operatives who are assisting the city in its quest to ensure that 97% of recyclable waste is diverted away from landfill sites and that only 3% of residual waste ends up at landfill sites as per the City's Growth and Development Strategy," said MMC Moerane.
“We are grateful to your efforts and we hope that it will encourage the recycling culture among the residents and business community of the city and immensely increase the recycling initiatives to ensure that minimal waste ends up at landfill sites," he concluded.
