Syga 212115782

RECYCLING IN NAMIBIA

Paper, plastic, glass, cans... all goes in one bag. But where does that bag go? What happens after that?

Windhoek has only been recycling for 2 YEARS now. Unfortunately, the material can't be processed here so it is bundled into 1 ton cubes and shipped to South Africa. Namibia faces so many problems with transporting these material to South Africa. In addition to native logistical glitches, there are transport procedures in South Africa, which do not permit its trucks transporting goods to Namibia to return home with another consignment. Currently 80 per cent of Namibia’s waste is sent to South Africa for recycling, apart from Polysulfone plastic products that are processed by Polymer Recycling Manufacturers at Okahandja. The administrator of the Recycle Namibia Forum (RNF), Wolfgang Schenck, says Polymer Recycling Manufactures processes 60 per cent of the recycled plastic in Namibia and serves 85 per cent of the country’s plastic product needs. The other issue which is a challenge is the price of the recyclable commodity which is low, plus how well it is sorted and how clean your recyclables are.

There are several companies and institutions in Namibia that have bought into the recycling initiative and are currently members of the Recycle Namibia Forum. The recycling initiative is premised on the concept of three R's – REDUCE, RE-USE and RECYCLE. Among the players in the recycling industry is 4H Namibia, an NGO involved in environmental education in schools all over Namibia. Another company is Collect-a-Can, which facilitates the collection of beverage cans around the country. Others are City of Windhoek, Enviro Fill, Lori Ink, Namibia Breweries, Namibia Dairies, Plastic Packaging, Rent-A-Drum, SAPPI re-fibre and the Glass Recycling Company. The Glass Recycling Company is a company formed by South African slag manufacturers involved in glass recycling.

Rent-A-Drum is the biggest recycling business in Namibia and has started the recycling initiative about 12 years ago. Rent a drum sorts and bales mixed recyclables in huge volumes and has created more than 70 jobs for unskilled Namibians. It is the biggest recycling plant in Namibia and one of the top 5 in Africa.

Rent-A-Drum is distributing free clear plastic bags to many households in Windhoek. Which can can then place all recyclables (paper, plastic, glass and tins) into separate bags. Windhoek’s landfill sites are rapidly running out of capacity and each household’s participation in this recycling process will assist not only the City of Windhoek, but also the environment. Several recycling stations equipped with compartments for paper, cans, plastic and glass have also been erected at some shopping centres in Windhoek.

Always remember to REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE and DISPOSE