LEADING THE WAY WITH SEPARATION AT SOURCE
PIKITUP continues to make major strides in influencing a paradigm shift in the way people relate to waste by promoting the Separation at Source (S@S) programme.
Central to this is diverting recyclable waste away from landfills and encouraging people to see waste as a resource.
As part of ongoing efforts, two service providers have been appointed to assist with collection of waste separated at source in over 100 000 middle to high income households in areas around Norwood, Midrand and Lenasia.
It is anticipated that within the next two months, the programme will also be extended to areas in Randburg and Roodepoort.
Piloted in September 2009 at the Waterval depot, S@S programme encourages residents to separate waste at their homes into different receptacles so as to separate plastic, paper, bottles/ glass and cans.
This means that only waste that cannot be recycled ends up in the black bin. The programme currently covers over 570 000 households.
“We are involved in efforts to foster partnerships with residents, businesses and waste reclaimers for more assistance to divert as much waste as possible,” says Pikitup Programme Manager: Separation at Source Nelly Rampete.
She explains that the waste generated within the City of Johannesburg is currently over 2 million tons of waste per year and as a result, the city’s four landfill sites are desperately running out of space. Some of the benefits of S@S include:
Recyclables remain clean as they are not contaminated by other waste.
Collection of waste is easier and efficient.
Recyclables are clean thus cannot be rejected by recyclers.
The recycling economy leading to job creation is encouraged.
Through the programme, Pikitup is also opening the net to other stakeholders to benefit by being directly involved in the recycling process. To this end, the entity works with established recycling companies to advise on how to separate waste in such a way that it generates the most value for individuals involved in the recycling process.
The S@S programme not only encourages residents to recycle their household refuse, it also promotes job creation through the exchange of money for recyclable waste.
To that end, a number of community run recycling buy-back centres have been established across the city.
These work together with waste reclaimers who collect from house- holds and sell the material to the buy-back centres.
In order to ensure that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between themselves and Pikitup, waste reclaimers have organised themselves and formed a task team that will look into how best they can work hand in hand with Pikitup to implement the S@S programme.
“We have opened the communication between ourselves and the waste reclaimers so that we could continuously engage on the way forward, how we can strengthen partnerships and ensure forward-looking solutions through collective efforts,” she says.
Rampete explains that the city is currently working with the task team to see how, going into the future, they can work together to design models of waste minimisation that can integrate waste reclaimers meaningfully.
She states that as an entity, Pikitup places a premium on good working relationships with all stakeholders including reclaimers.
Representatives of the waste reclaimers Justine Molefe and David Maqolo said they welcome the platform that has been opened by Pikitup for dialogue and engagement on the way forward.
“We support this structure as a way to discuss issues of mutual interest and together with Pikitup find lasting solutions,” says Molefe who has been collecting recyclable waste from landfills for 23 years.
Maqolo says the two parties need each other thus it is important that they work together in order to ensure their mutual benefit.
Vanessa Pillay, Organisation and Representation Programme Officer at Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO), says there are over 62 000 reclaimers in South Africa. Of these, she says, between 6 000 and 10 000 are in Johannesburg.
She also emphasizes the importance of a good working relationship with Pikitup.
“We should recognise and appreciate the work that waste reclaimers do and work together to integrate their activities into the national waste management system.
The move towards meaningful dialogue is welcome as we all need each other as equal partners with equally important responsibilities,” says Pillay.