A programme to make South Africa’s roads litter-free has been launched in Tshwane.

Adopta Road, the brainchild of cleaning and waste management services company IWESCO, partnered with other private sector organisations and the City of Tshwane to clean up South African roads.

“Adopta Road allows companies to sponsor the cleaning of a stretch of road – with the first sponsors already on board in Rosslyn, Tshwane,” says IWESCO CEO Shellie Roodt.

“The programme will create 100 000 new, sustainable green jobs in South Africa in the next five years, particularly for woman, the youth and people living with disabilities.

“The establishment of waste recycling depots will create additional jobs, while training and development will be facilitated through SETA accredited institutions.”

By joining the programme, companies help create jobs – and help establishing entrepreneurs, as teams of cleaning and maintenance staff are put to work in specific areas. By sponsoring one or more cleaners in the streets of Rosslyn and other areas during and beyond World Environmental Month, companies show their support for a litter-free South Africa. They also help create ‘green’ jobs, and earn B-BBEE and carbon credits when they get involved in the long term.

This is more than stopping littering – it is about creating green jobs, developing entrepreneurs, reducing the country’s carbon footprint and recycling – all adding up to establishing an environmental footprint.

“The myth that littering creates sustainable jobs must be eliminated. People employed to pick up litter could be used in much more meaningful jobs like cutting grass, landscaping and beautifying roadsides. Apart from creating a more pleasant environment, particularly in South Africa with its road network of about 754 000 km, of which over 70 000km are surfaced roads, the new consumer expects companies to go about with the environment responsibly.

“The triple P management principle – profit, people and the planet – is now more relevant than ever. Never before has the theme of World Environment Day Green economy: does it include you? been so directly focused on the business industry,” says Roodt.

“We are proud to be associated with the Adopta Road programme,” says logistics company LTG managing director Uhland Muller.

The freight industry is responsible for a large amount of carbon emissions and by supporting this campaign we contribute to minimising our carbon footprint and ensuring the sustainability of our surroundings.

“We deliver a superior and personalised freight and logistics service. At the same time, we are dedicated to the environment in which we operate – taking responsibility for reducing the burden on our earth,” says Muller.

“At the City of Tshwane’s Onderstepoort dumping site near Rosslyn alone more than 7.5 million tons of waste is being dumped every month of which five percent is recycled,” says Roodt.

“A recycling at source culture is sadly not yet part and parcel of the South African society. South Africans need to stand up and be counted in this green revolution, which will determine the country’s future well-being, as it has a marked influence on both environmental and economic development,” she says.

Roodt said the involvement of government at the level of the national Department of Environmental Affairs as a private/public partnership in the programme is being pursued.

“The involvement of government at all three levels of governance will assist greatly in this anti-litter initiative and support the creation of thousands of new green jobs. The support of the City of Tshwane sets the example for other municipalities to follow,” says Rhoodt.

IWESCO is the principal sponsor of Adopta Road.