Bedfordview recycler inspired to make a difference

Bedfordview’s Nthabeleng Thoabala is inspired to make a difference through recycling.

Like many other young South Africans, Thoabala hopes to tackle issues such as waste generation and youth unemployment.

The inspiration behind Thoabala’s Nathi Africa was the World Bank’s What a Waste 2.0 report.

The report estimated that waste generation across Sub-Saharan Africa would more than double by 2050.

“We founded Nathi Africa because we had always wanted to make a meaningful environmental and social impact within the recycling space and with the support of Isanti Glass and we launched in May, 2017,” said Thoabala.

Thoabala, who was 38 years old when she and her partner started the initiative, wanted to turn the social entrepreneurship drive she had always felt into a tangible way to impact her community and make a positive difference to the environment.

“We shared a concern around the recyclable tonnages of waste which still end up in surrounding landfills, as well as a concern for the plight of the waste reclaimers/collectors for whom the collection of recyclables is their only source of income.

“Glass recycling was particularly interesting because it could be recycled again and again,” Thoabala said.

When they first started, the two entrepreneurs worked on all aspects, ranging from sourcing suppliers (informally contracted reclaimers/collectors), loading the trucks at landfills and growing the initiative for 18 months, before being in a position to employ permanent staff.

During this period, they were able to learn and gain invaluable, on-the-job experience around how to manage their costs, get to grips with the ins and outs of the industry, and also managed to forge lasting partnerships with their suppliers.

She said one of the biggest hindrances was access to funding.

“We had to rely on family and friends as well as other partners such as The Glass Recycling Company (TGRC) for non-financial forms of support.

“Another vital lesson for us was that your monthly projections are a moving target as things outside your control such as vehicle breakdowns or strikes, and yes, pandemics such as Covid-19, do occur and cause you to adjust, review your strategy and find a new operational normality,” said Thoabala.

“This initiative has made it possible to uplift the communities around us and provided us with the ability to add value in ways I couldn’t imagine. This includes seeing reclaimers that initially used to collect about a ton per month, grow to reclaiming on average 20 tons a month and helping to empower them to create employment within their respective communities.

“Other memorable events over the course of our venture thus far includes the first month that we delivered 1 000 tons, testimonies of our reclaimers being able to send their children to tertiary educational institutions because of their recycling jobs, and being able to assist reclaimers to receive food vouchers during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Thoabala.

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