Dundee residents initiate plan to turn trash into cash
It is a win-win project that will help clean up the environment and earn money for those who need it the most.
An initiative that will help keep suburbs clean and benefit those who make a living from other people’s rubbish has been launched in Strathmore Park.
A community meeting was held last Wednesday, hosted by the local residents’ committee and attended by officials from Endumeni Municipality’s Environmental and Parks & Gardens department. For years now, residents have been left frustrated by so-called ‘pickers’ who open refuse bags left out for collection to salvage waste, which they sell for recycling in a bid to earn a living.
This activity often leads to refuse being scattered around the neighbourhood, which impacts the aesthetics of the suburb. With this in mind, residents Karen Meyer and Hannah Venter decided to co-ordinate a meeting with the municipality to come up with a solution. Zakhele Mndaweni and his assistant, Shaheen Thakur, explained that the public can assist the municipality in keeping the town clean by placing refuse in two separately coloured bags.
Yellow/orange bags will be used to discard recyclable waste such as plastics and paper, etc, while black bags will contain non-recyclable goods including plastic film, tissues and kitchen paper, foil, and soiled food packaging that can’t be rinsed clean, etc.
Mndaweni said that 70% of the used items can be recycled and pickers can simply remove the orange-coloured bags instead of rummaging through all the bags.
“They would take away these bags to a recycling depot in town – in Beaconsfield Street – from where the waste is transported for recycling. For this, the pickers earn money from the company, which will benefit them and their families.”
The win-win situation will help the environment and those who rely on waste for income. Mndaweni and Thakur have called on the community to support the project, which was received enthusiastically by residents.
A local security company has volunteered to hand out information pamphlets to the pickers on how the recycling process will work and how they can benefit.
Karen Meyer thanks the municipal officials for their support and hopes that soon residents in other suburbs will also come out and support the initiative. The coloured bags will be distributed by the municipality and more information will be made available as the project is rolled out.
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