The Rainbow Nation Recycling Club in Kini Bay just outside Port Elizabeth comprises a little buy-back centre and a swop shop, and brings hope to the Clarendon Marine community by supporting local children who bring in recyclable PET bottles on a weekly basis in exchange for credits, which are then used to buy essentials and heavily-discounted day-to-day basic consumables from the shop.

 

Early in June, the PET Recycling Company (PETCO) donated a 9 metre shipping container to the club in order to provide much needed storage space for the expanding operation. The swop shop concept dates back to 2003 and can be replicated and adapted to meet the day-to-day needs of any community, explains Cheri Scholtz, CEO of PETCO. “Swop shops have been successfully set up and run from schools, in community halls and are even operated from shipping containers like this one.” She adds: “The club was in need of more space for its PET bottles so it could increase its handling capacity and revenue from sale of the bottles to the Waste Trade Company, a local waste management and collection organisation.  The additional revenue should also enable them to purchase more stationery, food, toiletries, educational toys, books and clothing for the shop.”

 

Community upliftment

This innovative community development project is staffed by volunteers and supported by NGOs like PETCO and the Eastern Cape Branch of the Institute of Waste Management. It offers numerous benefits to the community and children in particular, in addition to the basic environmental and financial education value. “Among other things, the project shows children the value of working towards something to earn benefits, encourages them to use their initiative, and also teaches them about responsibility,”  says Penny Anderson, who champions the project and dedicates much of her time to run the club, mentor learners and assist the children with homework during the week.

 

The Rainbow Nation Recycling Club has been a part of the Waste Trade’s schools recycling programme since 2013, says Kay Hardy, general managerof the Waste Trade Company. “This project encapsulates what programme stands for: ‘Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me and I’ll understand.’ We are delighted to be able to support them with collections as well as a rebate for their recyclables,” she adds.

 

“Rainbows often symbolise a new era, hope, or social change, and for the small seaside community this rings true,” adds Scholtz. “A sense of pride is instilled though projects such as this – and community members have the opportunity to see how valuable even the smallest contribution can be,” she concludes.