Improved waste management services and job opportunities will soon be enjoyed by the residents of Actonville and Wattville as NetsAfrica hands over its waste management co-operative pilot project to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality for full operation.

The R4-million project, which was initiated by the Network of Tuscan and South African Local Governments (also known as NetsAfrica), will be declared operational and the responsibility of the Metro at a ceremony today at the O.R. Tambo Precinct and Environmental Centre in Wattville.

The project involved the establishment of two recyclable waste drop-off centres which were furnished with the necessary machinery and equipment to enable full recycling. A total of 22 co-operatives in the waste sector were trained in waste collection, recycling and how to utilise these resources to create employment.

Dignitaries from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Regional Government of Tuscany and the South African Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs are expected to attend the hand-over ceremony which will signify the end of a twinning agreement signed in January 2011.