Recycling campaign Litter4tokens helps feed, clothe community
AIMING to instill pride, and to promote hard work and cleanliness, a recycling campaign is doing wonders for the community of Shaka’s Head on the North Coast.
Every Thursday, scores of people gather at the Ithemba Labasha Community Centre in the area with bags filled with litter.
They make their way to the centre, knowing that they will go back home able to clothe and feed their families.
For every bag of litter they hand in, they get a token. The tokens can then be exchanged for food or clothing items at a Litter4tokens shop at the centre.
Based on a unique model, the Litter4tokens campaign teaches those from impoverished backgrounds that they should give back to the world and not rely on handouts.
For 52-year-old Florence Luthuli, the campaign has been life-changing. Luthuli is one of the first people who started to collect litter in her community. The mother of seven said Litter4tokens has restored some hope into the community. It has instilled a sense of dedication and hard work into the community, says Luthuli.
“It has made a huge difference to my life. I am now able to cook proper meals for my family thanks to some of the groceries I get from Litter4tokens. More and more people are collecting litter in the community,” says Luthuli.
Litter is also collected from seven schools in the area who have also joined the campaign. Besides groceries and basic foodstuff like mealie meal, porridge, canned foods and rice, there is also clothing available at the Litter4tokens shop – warm jerseys for winter, pretty dresses for the summer. The campaign was started by former Ballito resident Clare Swithenbank-bowman in November 2015. One day, as she drove through Shaka’s Head, it occurred to her how much litter was polluting the countryside. It also occurred to her that the unemployment rate in the community was relatively high, with many living in poverty.
“This litter has value as recycled material,” said Swithenbank-bowman.
And so the Litter4tokens campaign was born.
The Dolphin Coast Waste Management collects the full bags of recyclable waste on Fridays and the token shop is open on Saturday mornings.
The token shop is stocked by Dolphin Coast residents as well as sponsors such as Olala Interiors, private donors and parents of pupils at Ashton International College.
The programme is co-ordinated by Sue Beningfield
“I have been working in waste management for 28 years, hence I had a passion for the Litter4tokens campaign. It is proving to be a huge success for the local community as well as looking after the cleanliness of their community. The project has grown from one school to now seven schools, with more in the pipeline.” said Beningfield.
She said she hoped the campaign could extend into other communities soon.
But to do this, Litter4tokens is reliant on sponsorships.
“Our biggest problem is sponsorships and funding. We appeal to organisations, businesses or the general public who would like to assist us, to please contact us. “We can only expand the campaign with the help of the community and those who are willing to lend us their support,” said Beningfield.
If you would like to become a Litter4tokens sponsor, please email co-ordinator Sue Beningfield on beningfield@telkomsa. net Kajal Maharaj, Madison Smith and Siri Naicker are among pupils at Ballito’s Ashton International College who regularly donate grocery items towards the Litter4tokens campaign.