Making a living out of trash

The community of Zandspruit has been given an opportunity to make a living out of recycling.

Enana Recycle Swop Shop, which is run by Emthonjeni Centre, is seen as a “give and gain” initiative making it possible for the community of Zandspruit Informal Settlement to have the opportunity to collect recyclable items such as glass, tin, plastic, and paper in exchange for items they need.

According to partnership developer and fundraiser for Emthonjeni Centre Estelle Mengel, the Recycle Swop Shop project is an empowerment initiative that is aimed at allowing people to provide for themselves and their families, through their own hard work. “We want to ignite a belief that people are able to add value to their community and themselves. We encourage responsibility and ownership by cleaning up the community, thus instilling pride in the neighbourhood, reducing diseases and making the area safer for children to play in,” said Estelle.

The shop is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, when residents bring in recycle items in exchange for food and clothes. They earn points depending on the weight of the items, and school children are big collectors of recycle items  – they exchange them for stationary.

The recycle project has created employment for a local Zandspruit resident and Estelle says they are looking into employing a second person soon.

Because of the huge supply of recycle items, the centre is running out of exchange items.

Items needed include:

• clothing,
• shoes,
• electrical appliances (heaters, toasters, kettles, etc.)
• kitchen utensils (cookware, crockery, glassware, plastic ware, utensils and accessories)
• DIY materials (building material, hand tools such as trowels, drills, etc.)
• home décor materials (mirrors, curtains, rugs, linen, towels, etc.)
• toys,
• sports equipment (soccer balls, bicycles, rackets, etc.),
• stationery ,
• non-perishable food items (tinned food, rice, maize, sugar, etc.)
• toiletries and
• cleaning products (Handy Andy, hand Washing powder etc.)

For more information and delivery address contact estellem@mosaiek.com