Rubbish benefits ‘poorest of the poor’

THE poorest of the poor at Swakopmund will in future earn a steady income from the new landfill site developed by the Municipality.

The Town Council would also like to see Swakopmund become the leading recycling town in the country. It might not be the most pleasant job sorting through rubbish, but the more diligent of the 50-odd people working as collectors at the dump could earn more than N$1 000 a month selling their material to recyclers.”We have a unique concept of using contractors who collect up to 80 per cent of refuse for recycling,” said Johan Lemmer of West Coast Recyclers at the official opening of the new landfill site last week.He and Casper Derks of Scrap Metal have been appointed by Council to manage the new site.The general idea is that the collectors separate recyclable material from the rest of the rubbish to sell it to the two recyclers.The collectors have been divided into two groups.The group wearing red bibs collect paper, plastic and cardboard for West Coast Recyclers.The group with yellow bibs collect metal (cans) and glass for Scrap Metal.The material is weighed every day, and once a month they are paid per kilogram.Lemmer told The Namibian that the pay varied from N$100 to more than N$1 000 a person.”We have started teaching them business skills to help them open their own business accounts.”He said the collectors were registered with the two companies to ensure that only the unskilled and the poor benefited from the scheme.The new system would not only ensure a much more organised system at the site, but hopefully also a cleaner environment.Lemmer said the new landfill site, situated about 3 km north of the old, unsightly rubbish dump just north of Swakopmund, would be properly managed to ensure that no rubbish was blown into the surrounding desert, to minimise flies and to keep it neat and clean.At the old site, chaos erupted every time rubbish was dumped as collectors competed to get to material first, while a burning smell and large numbers of flies descended on surrounding residential areas during windy conditions.Some collectors stayed in shacks at the dump; others brought their children with them.Mayor Rosina //Hoabes said it was very important that children were kept away from the premises, as well as other unwanted elements, including stray dogs.The Municipality hopes the new system will not only establish Swakopmund as the top recycling town in the country, but also remain one of the cleanest.Eckart Demasius, CEO of the Municipality, said the opening of the new site symbolised a new start for recycling.He urged schools in particular to use recycling, not only as an educational tool, but also as a means of income.He said the recycling of paper and cans presented a huge potential source of income for schools always in need of funding.Clive Lawrence, General Manager of the municipality’s Health Department, said residents could also play a vital role in recycling by sorting their waste at home.Lemmer said the plan for the future was to introduce recycling days.For instance, during the first week of the month homeowners would place paper in a separate bag next to their bins on collection day.The next week would be for glass, and the third for cans.The recyclers would then collect the bags.In the meantime, Lemmer said, residents were welcome to deliver recyclable material to the business sites of the two companies.According to Demasius, the refuse load could be reduced by as much as 70 per cent if material for recycling was sorted in advance.It might not be the most pleasant job sorting through rubbish, but the more diligent of the 50-odd people working as collectors at the dump could earn more than N$1 000 a month selling their material to recyclers.”We have a unique concept of using contractors who collect up to 80 per cent of refuse for recycling,” said Johan Lemmer of West Coast Recyclers at the official opening of the new landfill site last week.He and Casper Derks of Scrap Metal have been appointed by Council to manage the new site.The general idea is that the collectors separate recyclable material from the rest of the rubbish to sell it to the two recyclers.The collectors have been divided into two groups.The group wearing red bibs collect paper, plastic and cardboard for West Coast Recyclers.The group with yellow bibs collect metal (cans) and glass for Scrap Metal.The material is weighed every day, and once a month they are paid per kilogram.Lemmer told The Namibian that the pay varied from N$100 to more than N$1 000 a person.”We have started teaching them business skills to help them open their own business accounts.”He said the collectors were registered with the two companies to ensure that only the unskilled and the poor benefited from the scheme.The new system would not only ensure a much more organised system at the site, but hopefully also a cleaner environment.Lemmer said the new landfill site, situated about 3 km north of the old, unsightly rubbish dump just north of Swakopmund, would be properly managed to ensure that no rubbish was blown into the surrounding desert, to minimise flies and to keep it neat and clean.At the old site, chaos erupted every time rubbish was dumped as collectors competed to get to material first, while a burning smell and large numbers of flies descended on surrounding residential areas during windy conditions.Some collectors stayed in shacks at the dump; others brought their children with them.Mayor Rosina //Hoabes said it was very important that children were kept away from the premises, as well as other unwanted elements, including stray dogs.The Municipality hopes the new system will not only establish Swakopmund as the top recycling town in the country, but also remain one of the cleanest.Eckart Demasius, CEO of the Municipality, said the opening of the new site symbolised a new start for recycling.He urged schools in particular to use recycling, not only as an educational tool, but also as a means of income.He said the recycling of paper and cans presented a huge potential source of income for schools always in need of funding.Clive Lawrence, General Manager of the municipality’s Health Department, said residents could also play a vital role in recycling by sorting their waste at home.Lemmer said the plan for the future was to introduce recycling days.For instance, during the first week of the month homeowners would place paper in a separate bag next to their bins on collection day.The next week would be for glass, and the third for cans.The recyclers would then collect the bags.In the meantime, Lemmer said, residents were welcome to deliver recyclable material to the business sites of the two companies.According to Demasius, the refuse load could be reduced by as much as 70 per cent if material for recycling was sorted in advance.