The Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) partnered with Pick n Pay and the South African PET Recycling Company (Petco) to support an innovative recycling pilot project in George Kerridge, Vredenburg.
The project was introduced to the learners at Masiphathisane Primary School in Vredenburg on Wednesday 5 May.
Since 2016, the municipality’s kerbside recycling collection service has been running well, reaching over 40% participation of households in middle and upper-income suburbs.
However, in high-density, lower-income areas, average participation is below 15%.
The learners shared their inputs on what recycling is and were encouraged to implement it in their households.
The Recycling Enterprise and Education Project (Reep) encourages residents in George Kerridge to participate in recycling by helping to feed a hungry child. In exchange for each bag of recyclables given by households to the mobile collector, a donation will be made to the Masiphathisane Primary School feeding fund.
Co-sponsoring the pilot with Pick n Pay’s “People and Planet” sustainability programme, is Petco, a plastics recycling organisation.
It has sponsored a street trolley cart which the recycling collector will use to tour the area.
A donation to the school will be made on behalf of Pick n Pay for each bag of recyclables given to the collector, a resident of George Kerridge, in this way providing a local job creation component to the project.
As a pilot, the project will run for three to six months. If successful, the aim is to continue it and later expand to other areas of the municipality.
The Reep project aligns with the circular economy, diverting valuable waste materials from landfill into the recycling industry, reducing energy and resource use, and creating employment, while also helping to feed young learners at school.
