Thanks to the tireless efforts of the youth of Tembisa Township, a Recycling Buyback Centre that aims to recycle an initial 60 tonnes of waste per month is being set up in the east of Johannesburg.
The community of Tembisa Township faces a significant health risk due to poor waste management. A lack of municipal service delivery particularly in the informal settlements, where there are no regular waste removal services, rapid population growth, and a lack of community awareness about the impact of pollution on human health and the environment are key contributors.
So too is the Kaalspruit River running through Tembisa, which is one of the most polluted rivers in Gauteng Province, accumulating tons of uncollected waste and posing a huge threat to both the community and the surrounding environment.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 the youth of Tembisa have been trying to tackle these unhygienic conditions, organising over 100 clean-up campaigns, and transforming illegal waste dumps into community food gardens, parks, and economic hubs. In 2022 this work grew into the formation of Enviro Waste Picker, which aims at incentivizing community members to recycle while creating local jobs and of course reducing the amount of waste disposed of in the environment.
Now with authorisation from the Ekurhuleni Municipality, the formation of an operational buy-back centre is finally underway. The centre aims to recycle 60 tones of waste per month initially, with a growth projection of an additional 30 – 40 tones annually.
After nearly three years of work, this group of driven community members can finally see the positive impact of their efforts and the serious issues around poor waste management pollution in Tembisa can start to get adequately addressed.
