SOUTH AFRICA: Redemption centre improves waste management in Buffalo

A new unit is redeeming solid waste in the city of Buffalo, South Africa, from 1 October 2021. The centre is being commissioned by the Border Kei Chamber of Businesses (BKCOB).

The Border Kei Chamber of Businesses (BKCOB) is aiming to improve solid waste management in the city of Buffalo on the eastern coast of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The new waste buy-back centre recently opened at St. George's Park, Southernwood in the City of East London, will enable it to put its plans into action.

The people of this metropolis will exchange their waste for a cash value. This waste will then be recycled, reducing illegal dumping and creating employment opportunities for young people. " The program is also aimed at attracting investment," says Helen Neale-May of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). The project is being implemented under the Call-2-Action program. The initiative aims to encourage waste recycling in the City of Buffalo.

Support from local businesses

The solid waste buy-back centre at Southernwood in the South African city of Buffalo is the first of a series of such facilities to be built to clean up this metropolis of 710,000 inhabitants. In this project, BKCOB is collaborating with BCMM, the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency (BCMDA), Mercedes Benz South Africa and the Polyolefin Responsibility Organisation (Polyco), an industry body that develops recycling solutions for polyolefin plastic packaging waste in South Africa.

Through its project, BKCOB hopes to encourage other South African cities to take up waste recovery. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), South Africa produces 12.7 million tonnes of waste per year. About 3.67 million tonnes of this waste is not collected or processed through formal systems, resulting in large amounts of waste being illegally dumped on the streets.

Source: www.afrik21.africa