Stabilis, BUCO, Sanibonani, Rooikat, Innibos and Lowvelder joined hands for Mandela Day to clean the streets for their 67 minutes.
The trash they picked up was neatly collected by special BUCO trucks for this purpose, but the plastic was deposited into a specially constructed heart, located at Crossing Centre. From here the plastic will be recycled.
ALSO READ: Nelson Mandela Day goals for the next 10 years #MadibaDay
Jack Magongo, an independent environmentalist, said he is currently cooperating with a group of 12 women based in Pienaar outside Mbombela in a waste management and recycling project.
He said the cooperation is part of a job creation project. Magongo said they have been working under Africa Green Earth Project and with the help of Innibos.
According to Magongo, there are 12 women benefiting financially. “They sort the waste and they divide the incentives according to what has been collected in revenue in the market. Although they do
not make the same amount every month,” he added.
The process of recycling starts after the community has dropped off the waste.
“We empty the heart and take the waste to Greens Waste, then sort it there. We weigh it according to the kilograms and sort it according to colours,” he said.
There are different colour categories; white, green, blue, brown, red and yellow.
ALSO READ: GALLERY: #Heart2Clean Walk for Mandela day
“The white colour has more value and we call it ‘clear’. It makes it easy for us to make end products. Waste such as white containers and cold drink bottles are clear. Green and blue are usually sorted together; it can be things such as water bottles that are blue and green.
“Brown is your brown containers, but not the brown medicine bottles. They are hazardous. The red and yellow are very rare, although they can be found as sauce bottles and many more,” he explained.
Magongo said the community needs to remember that the aim is to harvest as much as they can, regardless of the colour of the waste.
In Mpumalanga they do not have a recycling plant that finalises everything, so they take it to Gauteng. It is then transformed into various products such as bags and clothes.
