Tshwane embarked on its first public Separation-at-Source project to help kickstart the positive chain reaction of recycling in the city!
Tshwane, South Africa (09 May 2024) — The City of Tshwane is celebrating its first separation-at-source (S@S) project in a public space; a successful effort that aimed to entice the public to recycle more consciously.
Since February, visitors to Tshwane’s popular public Fountains Valley Resort have been given the easy option to get into the habit of separating at source thanks to 12 large, colour-coded and labelled recycling bins. In fact, the bins themselves were said to have been made largely from waste materials; a mixture of plastic and aluminium pellets extracted from recycled liquid board cartons used to package fruit juice and other liquids.
The pilot project was the first recycling campaign in a public space for the City and aimed to get an area where the public frequents involved in reducing the strain on landfills.
More empty aluminium cans, plastic, paper and glass packaging waste were able to be sorted by members of the public themselves in a recycling concept centred around nipping waste concerns in the bud.
The pilot project was a collaboration between the City of Tshwane and producer responsibility organisation Petco. Thanks to the success of the Fountains Valley Resort mission, plans are reportedly afoot to extend the project into more public areas.
“It is of crucial importance that we separate our waste so that we enhance our recycling efforts,” councillor Ziyanda Zwane said, noting that, like much of our country, Tshwane is running out of landfill space at its four main landfill sites.
Why does Separation-at-Source Matter?
The S@S bins are the beginning of a chain reaction of eco-consciousness. When recyclable waste is diverted from the City’s landfills, they play an important role in improving the quality of the recyclable materials separated, given that they are not contaminated by non-recyclable, residual and organic waste. This then helps waste pickers earn a better living, as they are able to receive better payment from buy-back centres when they collect cleaner materials that are separated according to type!
You can learn more about bettering your recycling habits, here.
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