Plans to turn waste into cash
LUKHANJI Municipality will turn waste into a valuable commodity when it starts to operate multi recycling waste buy back centres using millions of rands that have been channelled through the Chris Hani Development Agency (CHDA).
Making a presentation on the buy back centres during a council meeting last Friday, Louis Fourie of Newground Projects said space for the centres had not yet been identified.
The National Waste Management Strategy of South Africa strongly advocated creating green jobs, particularly from waste management. “Creation of jobs within the area of waste management is about creating valuable and sustainable green jobs. Traditional methods such as waste disposal by landfill have become more expensive and unsustainable; therefore recycling has become a sustainable alternative for waste and can create jobs from the waste sector,” he said.
The Rep reported (“Trouble at the tip,” June 12) that concerns were mounting over the management of the Queenstown landfill site as smoke billowing from fires polluted the air.
Fourie said creation of informal and formal job opportunities could employ 30 people and directly benefit over 100 informal recyclers. The overall objectives would be to create accessible centres, create jobs, promote collection and recovery of recyclable materials and address litter and waste for a clean environment.
A business model was in the development stage with designs at 80% and cost estimates at 80%. However questions were raised around the issue of the money channelled through CHDA.
The R30-million project would have executive mayor Nozi Makanda seeking an audience with Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa to understand the channelling of the money through CHDA.
ANC veteran councillor Siyabulela Gaju also wanted to know why the money was given to a “third party” and asked municipal manager Nolwandle Gqiba to provide council with a concept document of the project. “If it means the Environmental Affairs Department must explain this to us, then they must come. This is public money. The presentation does not talk about operations. Who will pay for the waste? This project is not even in our integrated development plan (IDP),” Gaju said.
Makanda said Newground Projects was a project management company and would manage cooperatives involved in the project. She added the project was in the IDP.
“I also did not understand why the money was given to CHDA, but when I questioned it I was told this is how the department operates. This project is in our space so we are owners and beneficiaries of it. We will need an official from CHDA to explain how they will handle this project.”
Council chief whip Sinethemba Dyantyi said there was a need for a meeting between Environmental Affairs, CHDA and Lukhanji before the start of the project.