Mould Empower Serve (MES) in Durbanville has partnered with the Western Cape branch of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) to launch a paper recycling initiative at the MES Homeless Support Centre in Durbanville.
“The initiative is aimed at promoting environmental sustainability while generating additional income for MES Durbanville for its programmes supporting homeless people,” says Lunar Magidigidi, spokesperson for IWMSA.
Addressing poverty
“This year is especially significant for us as MES celebrates 40 years of service. MES plays a vital role in addressing poverty and homelessness in the Durbanville community and has demonstrated strong commitment to environmental responsibility through existing initiatives such as e-waste collection.
“Building on this foundation, IWMSA will support the establishment of a dedicated paper recycling stream at the centre. This responds to the identified need where donated books, paper and textbooks that cannot be reused, are currently being landfilled, despite paper being a highly recyclable material,” she says.
Through this project, IWMSA will provide the required infrastructure in the form of three branded wheelie bins (co-branded with IWMSA and MES) for the storage of paper recyclables. A collection partnership has been arranged with One Stop Waste, a Bellville-based service provider, who will collect the paper at no cost to MES and provide a rebate based on the weight of material collected. This will create an additional income stream for MES while increasing recycling access for the surrounding community and diverting valuable material from landfill, Magidigidi says.
Important for MES
Earle Jonsen, safe space manager and acting centre manager at MES Durbanville, welcomed the partnership.
“This is important for MES as an organisation because it is an opportunity to explore other avenues outside of what we already know, and we are learning something new about how to dispose of paper in the correct manner. We also strongly believe in partnerships and collaboration,” he says.
“The bins are currently only at Durbanville, but we are looking to support other branches as well,” Magidigidi continues.
“Anyone can bring their paper waste, but MES manages it and will benefit from it because the recycler will pay them for the collected paper,” she says.
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