New outfits for Roadhouse Crescent recyclers
The recyclers work in and around Durban North and Chris Hani Road (North Coast Road) collecting plastic, paper and cardboard waste.
THE Roadhouse Crescent Recyclers, who collect and sort recyclable waste under the Connaught Bridge in Durban North, have been sponsored Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by Green Corridors, funded by the eThekwini Economic Development Unit.
To help formalise and control the safety, efficiency and neatness of the collection of recyclable materials at this site and discourage illegal dumping, several stakeholders, including civil society organisations, government structures, businesses and the collectors themselves continue to work towards solutions.
Leading the formalisation with practical and logistical support is Green Corridors NPC, with Triecomvelo, under the leadership of Siphiwe Rakgabale who is also the Green Corridors’ litter-boom and clean-up coordinator.
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“These collectors work in and around Durban North and Chris Hani Road (North Coast Road) collecting plastic, paper and cardboard waste, and local businesses and residents also bring waste here,” explains Rakgabale. “It is important that as we move towards formalising the operation, the safety of the collectors is ensured, and this PPE is an important step in the process.”
The kit includes a branded shirt so they can be identified as being part of a formal and legitimate operation, a sunhat, protective gloves, safety boots and overalls, as well as three heavy-duty waste bags in which to place their collections.
The waste is sorted, compacted and then collected by various Material Recovery Facilities, including Green Corridors’ Research and Development Division – KwaMashu Materials Beneficiation Centre (KMBC) – which provides technical support for this complex ‘ecosystem’ and also repurposes the waste.
Other partners in this waste ecosystem include Adopt-a-River, Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and Umgeni Estuary Conservancy (under which the site falls), DUCT’s Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu programme, the eThekwini Municipality’s Economic Development Unit, Solid Waste and its Parks Department, and working with the local ward councillor, Shontel De Boer, and businesses and other sponsors.
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