SOUTH AFRICA – Interwaste, a leading local waste management business, has announced that its Tops to Tags initiative, which has run since 2011, is now called Give2Green.
The initiative will focus on encouraging corporates, schools and community programs to bring in bottle tops, aluminium cans and white office paper for sanitary pads or wheelchairs, which can then be distributed to those in need.
Rajas Pillay, human resources director at Interwaste said: “The Tops to Tags program, which has been a resounding success, saw us donate over 1,000 wheelchairs to worthy recipients as well as divert over 400 tons of waste from landfill disposal.
“However, to align with changing market needs and evolving waste legislation and of course, the need to be at the forefront of promoting women’s health, education and empowerment to improve the lives of women and girls in our country, we have taken the next step in this journey.”
The Give2Green program will work on the same premise as before, where recycled waste will qualify the participant to donate a specified number of free sanitary pads or a wheelchair to a cause or beneficiary of their choosing.
However, bread tags no longer form part of this program –so for 250 kg of bottle tops or white office paper brought in, 60 packets of sanitary pads will be donated.
Similarly, 50 kg of aluminium cans will directly relate to 60 packs of sanitary pads being donated.
In terms of wheelchairs, these can still be obtained through the recycling of either 500 kg of plastic bottle tops, 120 kg of aluminium cans, or 550 kg of white office paper.
There are various Interwaste drop-off points where recyclable materials can be taken countrywide – 23 Shepstone Road, New Germany, Durban; 2 Brammer Street, Industries East, Germiston South, in Gauteng; 10 Bosch Street, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga; and 6 Montreal Drive, Airport Industria, Cape Town.
The basic steps for the Give2Green initiative are to collect as many bottle tops, aluminium cans, and white office paper as one can, and deliver these to Interwaste branches on Wednesdays or Thursdays from 8:00 to 12:00.
If all is in order and stock available, collection of the pads or wheelchair can be done within two weeks.
“We believe that through adding the donation of sanitary pads to the Give2Green program, we can help remove an economic barrier for so many women and allow them to allocate their limited resources to other much-needed necessities, while still focusing on our core business of waste management and the encouragement of a circular economy,” Pillay concluded.
“By embarking on this initiative to facilitate environmental sustainability and socio-economic upliftment, we can collectively make a difference.”
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