Learners are getting a head-start on their recycling habits in rural Mpumalanga and the Free State thanks to an eco-education boost in the area that’s teaching them how to conserve their natural environments:
South Africa (09 March 2025) — As many adults lean into recycling habits following years of not knowing better, the focus is on the next generation to ensure that these youngsters have a steady eco-education from tender ages.
A recent and welcomed boost in this niche of education hails from parts of rural Mpumalanga and the Free State thanks to a team-up between education non-profit the Good Work Foundation (GWF) and public benefit organisation Fibre Circle.
Launched in Hazyview in February, the recycling project is giving young students and staff members a practical means to nurture their recycling habits.
Waste bins and other materials necessary to kick-start waste separation have been distributed across six GWF campuses, with waste set to be collected for recycling. In the same breath, rebates will serve as incentives for staff who double as the initiative’s drivers!
Because most of the GWF campuses border the Kruger National Park, the eco-knowledge set to blossom as a result of the recycling habits project becomes all the more important.
As GWF’s head of campus operations, Musa Mokoena says:
“We’ve found there is very little consistent environmental education at home or at school in the areas in which we operate. For that reason, we were looking for a project that would leave a positive footprint on the environment and teach our staff members, students and learners how to dispose of waste correctly,” she says.
Musa adds, “It’s really exciting to see how people are already changing the way they think and act when it comes to separating waste.”
Induction sessions will also be rolled out across the charity’s network of 29 public primary schools, as well as the high schools it works with.
Musa shares that the local schools are very excited about the initiative and intend to use the rebates they receive from recycling waste to help their schools with things like makeovers and learner nutrition projects.
“They are not just doing the right thing by filling up the bins with recyclable waste – they are also reaping the rewards. They are seeing that there are opportunities for entrepreneurship and revenue generation in the green economy space.”
Says Ally Hlatshwayo, who has tended the garden at GWF’s Huntington Digital Learning Campus since 2017:
“I’m excited about this recycling project because it will create jobs, and it will help us keep our campus, schools and community clean and healthy. I’m learning new things, because I wasn’t aware that we can recycle our paper, glass and plastic. So we are not going to dump or burn waste – we are going to recycle it.”
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