The humble refuse bag has become the unlikely hero for over 100 previously unemployed women in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Thanks to the vision of Supa Mama founder Thina Maziya, hundreds of waste collectors now earn a weekly income to feed their families.
The competitively priced ‘Supa Mama’ refuse bag uses recycled plastic to produce recyclable bin bags. Available for purchase Nationally from any Game Store and in KZN from Spar, Shoprite/Checker and Makro. Buying the Supa Mama refuse bag means shoppers are ensuring employment to hundreds of women and saving 11 tonnes of waste from reaching landfill each week.
“Supa Mama is not offering a quick promotion, with temporary feel good eco and social benefits. The more Supa Mama refuse bags we sell, the more Mama’s we can employ and the more rubbish we can keep out of dumps” said Maziya.
Maziya’s innovative business model allows her to cut out the middleman and deal directly with the ‘Mamas’. This ensures she is able to pay the best price for their work.
“We realised the Mama’s were walking far to collect their plastic, and travel costs often cut into their small income, so we set up collection points around the province. We’ve also set up a safe SMS payment system so our Mama’s don’t have to carry cash,” says Maziya.
Supa Mama aims to provide work for over 1,000 Mamas, and envisages a Mama owned fleet of trucks to service the growing logistical needs of the firm. “We could set up a logistics team, but we want to give the Mama’s the opportunity to grow with us” said Maziya.
Supa Mama was conceptualised by Estcourt born businesswoman Thina Maziya and is the flagship brand of Verigreen Pty Ltd.
Supa Mama drawstring refuse bags are available for purchase nationally from any Game Store. Game is currently running a promo for Value 2 for R30.
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