September 16 to 21 is Clean up and Recycle SA Week and it is an annual initiative by the local plastic industry, supported and recognized by the various packaging and retail streams. South Africans are welcomed to participate in this exciting initiative that encourages community members to go out there and keep their streets, parks and beaches clean.
September has been dedicated to clean up and recycling campaigns by the plastic industry. South Africa has an input recycling rate of 43.7 % when it comes to plastics, well above that of Europe’s recycling rate, which currently sits at 31.1 %. Recycling in South Africa is an economic factor and the waste pickers who collect recyclables from landfills and dustbins do so as it is their only source of income.
This system also poses health risks that come with digging through potentially toxic materials at landfills, as well as exposure to germs and bacteria while digging through dustbins.
Gauteng News spoke to Muzi Mkhwanazi, spokesperson of Pikitup, “Currently we have a project that is under way called the Integrated Waste Stream and in a nut shell it will assist waste collectors in the streets to register with us and should the recycler wish to work with Pikitup it will make things easier and allow entrepreneurship to take place.
To celebrate the Clean-up and Recycle SA week we will be working with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. On the 25th of September we will be cleaning Walter Sisulu Square at Kliptown.”
