THE eThekwini Municipality Durban Solid Waste Recycling Centre, which has been managed by Marge Mitchell, the chairman of Keep Hillcrest Beautiful Association, is in danger of being shut down.
According to Mitchell, the centre sorts approximately 30 tons of waste (paper, cardboard, plastic, cans, glass and polystyrene) a month, but it is not enough to financially sustain the centre.
“We have two labourers, Welcom Ngcobo and Sindi Ndlovo, who we employ to sort the recycled waste at the centre. The sorting is a time-consuming process, especially since community members are not recycling properly. We often find that people ‘recycle’ plastic, glass and even cardboard together, which then forces the labourers to sort the recycled waste products individually instead of bags of recycled waste. Some community members even dump their waste that is not recyclable and we are then forced to take the waste to the land fill,” said Mitchell.
According to Mitchell, many of the companies who collect the recycled waste do not perceive the centre’s sorted waste as financially viable, as it costs more to fetch the centre’s limited waste than what it would to recycle the collected waste themselves.
“The companies also prefer that the waste be baled, which essentially means that the waste is compacted into square bundles otherwise they are transporting air,” said Mitchell. The centre does not currently have the facilities to bale the waste.
Mitchell also reported that it is alleged that the over collection of glass has reduced the value of recycled glass in the country.
“It is a very difficult thing, while it is great for the country that so much glass is being recycled, it also has a negative impact on us. The payment of our glass has been reduced from R200 per ton to a R180 per ton. All of these aspects impact our income,” said Mitchell.
As KHBA is an NPO 90 per cent of the profits of the centre are used to pay the salaries of the two labourers. The other 10 per cent is used for admin.
“If the income of the centre continues to decline one of the labourers will lose his job, and eventually we might have to shut down the whole centre and all of the recycled waste that would have come to the centre will end up in landfill sites. Currently there is approximately 1.8 million tons of waste that is dumped on landfill sites,” said Mitchell.
A local resident,Gary Amos, who owns Roll Back Transport, a service provider that collects glass waste has stepped forward to assist the centre.
He has offered to collect plastic waste from the centre, in addition to the glass waste.
“I have worked with Marge for a long time and decided to help her get back on track. I understand that the costs involved in sorting are enormous, and people are just simply lazy and inconsiderate when it comes to recycling. They just do not care.,”
Heidi Boyd, of Enviro Timbers, a company that recycles and transforms plastic waste into plastic furniture, has also volunteered to assist the centre by teaching Mitchell and the two labourers about recycling and how to recycle properly.
“My husband, Alan, and I started Enviro Timbers to help the environment and to create jobs. I believe that by helping Marge we will be able to increase job opportunities and to reduce the amount of waste that lands up in landfill sites and pollutes the environment,” said Boyd.
Mitchell is appealing to businesses and residents to assist the centre by donating funds, which will enable the centre to employ more staff to sort the recycled waste or to deliver recycled waste to the centre.
