Promoting a culture of industrial symbiosis
PINETOWN-based greenABLE, which employs physically disabled people, and Cape Townbased All Women Recycling have set their sights on getting a foothold in the nascent industrial symbiosis industry.
The industry finds symbiotic relationships between the waste of one company and the raw materials of another.
The matchmaking process saves single-use materials from ending up in landfills when they could be turned into cheap ingredients for new products.
Sarah Ramkumar, the fundraising co-ordinator at greenABLE, said it was founded in 2011 when printing services company greenOFFICE realised many printer cartridges were dumped, rather than recycled.
Ramkumar said: “greenABLE processes up to 30 000 cartridges a month, preventing about 18 tons of plastic and metal from reaching the landfill.”
The Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) waste road map of 2014 said more than R17 billion could be added to South Africa’s economy from the industrial symbiosis sector.
Henry Roman, director of the environmental services and technologies division at the DST, said: “Small businesses play a valuable role in working towards this goal by reintroducing resources into the economy.”
The Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (Wisp) is a free facilitation service to businesses that is fully funded by the City of Cape Town under the auspices of GreenCape. GreenCape said the cumulative impact of Wisp over the last five years had seen 27 436 tons of waste diverted from landfill, 73 831 fossil greenhouse gas emissions saved, R43.08 million generated in financial benefits and 143 jobs created in the economy.
Lynn Worsley, managing director of All Women Recycling, said: “All Women Recycling employs 13 single mothers with modest education – turning bottles into gift boxes, sold locally and abroad.”
All Women Recycling began in 2008 and is based in Cape Town. All Women Recycling and greenABLE both won a SEED award in 2014. SEED is a global partnership for action on su stainable development, and works with eco-inclusive enterprises to improve their resilience and success.