Turning trash into treasure
THEY say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and Ms Phumeza Ceshemba from Mdantsane in East London has found just the model she needs to create wealth from waste.
In 2017, this mother of two teenagers opened a recycling plant in Mdantsane where she recycles and pelletise plastic material for business.
Her message to ordinary South Africans is to “wake up and think of waste management as a lucrative vehicle for creating work opportunities, keeping the environment clean and enriching future generations”.
Ms Ceshemba is the owner of Afriwaste. Her recycling plant employs 17 men and women from impoverished communities whom she says she is training for business in waste.
“My goal is to see these very same men and women progress into good citizens who practice good green deeds in their daily lives, but more than that I want to see them running their own businesses in recycling.”
Afriwaste collects and recycles an average of 120 tons of plastic waste every month from landfill sites, homes and grocery supermarkets. Of the recycled waste, 100 tons of pellets are sold back to business for the manufacturing of furniture such as tables and plastic chairs.
Afriwaste uses innovative technology and machinery for recycling and pelleting the plastic.
Ms Ceshemba received a visit from South Africa’s first citizen when he was in the province headed to Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London where he launched the Good Green programme which is about encouraging behavioural change for every South African to Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
“Meeting President Ramaphosa is both exciting and nerve wrecking.
When I opened the business two years ago, I wanted to contribute in waste management and keep my community cleaner. I’m excited to be recognised as an agent of change that the president has taken notice of,” Ms Ceshemba said.
President Ramaphosa and his delegation spent some time talking to the workers at the factory and looking at its functions and operations.
FIVE STAGES IN PLASTIC RECYCLING
After the truck delivers plastic at a recycling plant, it needs to go through five different stages so that it can be further used for making various types of products.
● Sorting: Every plastic item is separated according to its make and type so that it can be processed accordingly in the shredding machine.
● Washing: Once the sorting has been done, the plastic waste needs to be washed properly to remove impurities such as labels and adhesives. This enhances the quality of the finished product.
● Shredding: After washing, the plastic waste is loaded into different conveyer belts that run
the waste through the different shredders. These shredders tear up the plastic into small pellets, preparing them for recycling into other products.
● Identification and
Classification of Plastic: After shredding, a proper testing of the plastic pellets is conducted in order to ascertain their quality and class.
● Extruding: This involves melting the shredded plastic so that it can be extruded into pellets, which are then used for making different types of plastic products.
THE ECONOMIC VALUE IN WASTE
● South Africa’s waste economy is estimated to be worth a minimum of R15 billion contribution to the GDP.
● The Waste Sector Survey showed that the formal South African waste sector employs nearly 30 000 people in 2012 of which 20 092 are employed in the public sector – mostly in local and metropolitan municipalities – and 9 741 worked in the private sector.
● In the informal economy, there are plus / minus 62 147 waste pickers in the country (36 680 operating from landfills and 25 467 operating as trolley pushers).
● Diverting waste away from landfills also provides considerable social, economic and environmental opportunities for the country, including job creation and enterprise development.
● In South Africa the opportunities for diversion of waste will provide access to valuable resources through the development of recycling industries.
● By promoting the adoption of closing-the-loop production patterns within an economic system, the Circular Economy aims to increase the efficiency of resource use, with special focus on urban and industrial waste, to achieve a better balance and harmony between economy, environment and society.
● The Circular Economy provides a closed loop for better management of materials in the context of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover of waste.