The City of Cape Town’s WasteWise Community Training Programme continues to yield facilitators to promote waste consciousness and encourage action in their communities. On Friday 13 May a further 9 facilitators were presented with certificates at a ceremony at the Mary Ward Centre in Strand.

WasteWise, a public educational platform of the City of Cape Town Solid Waste Management Department, is aimed at raising awareness and encouraging action to minimise waste, end illegal dumping, reduce littering, and increase recycling.

The WasteWise programme is implemented through the integration of several campaigns such as working with communities, schools, commerce and industry and the general public. One such campaign is designed to facilitate the empowerment of community members through partnerships between communities, schools and businesses in the development of Green Zone Areas in certain parts of Cape Town. The goal is to promote integrated waste minimisation and recycling; to empower the community and to maintain healthy neighbourhoods.

The presentation ceremony marked the culmination of a five-day WasteWise Community Facilitators Training Programme which offered members of the community training towards becoming facilitators in their respective piloted Green Zone Areas. The initiative was launched in February this year when the programme certificated its first 16 facilitators.

The role of the facilitator is primarily to be the ‘face’ of the WasteWise programme and to showcase the importance of good waste management behaviour to communities, businesses and individuals with the aim of changing people’s perceptions on waste management.

Further responsibilities are:

to inform and educate residents about the realities and consequences of poor waste management;
to look at practical waste minimisation practices within communities;
to look at methods to support and integrate efforts to reduce dumping in their respective areas;
to encourage communities to take ownership and responsibility through good waste management practices; and
to empower not only their communities, but themselves, to ensure a sustainable drive towards waste reduction by developing a lasting waste wise culture.

Course content focuses on community development using a participatory approach to bring about personal development and social change linked to waste. Topics include Qualities, Roles & Responsibilities of a Facilitator; Explaining the Learning Cycle (these form the basis of the community engagement process); and Participatory Tools.

SHARE, a non-governmental with more than 20 years in adult learning sector, primarily in Adult Basic Education & Lifelong learning, Non-formal Learning and Community Development presented the WasteWise programme training.

‘The WasteWise Community Facilitators’ Training Programme within the planned Green Zone areas plays an important role in the City’s long-term WasteWise project, designed to integrate and supplement all efforts to combat waste, illegal dumping and littering within the City,’ commented Leander van Oordt, Head: Public Awareness and Education for Solid Waste. ‘By training and integrating facilitators of the WasteWise programme to empower their own communities, we are applying the fundamental principle of encouraging communities in partnering with schools and business in the Green Zone Areas to minimise waste and assisting them to take greater responsibility for their environment,’she added.

Jeffares and Green consortium was contracted through the WasteWise programme to facilitate this pilot programme in the view to determine and investigate possible sustainable waste education and recycling for waste wise schools and communities.

For more information, contact the City of Cape Town’s Public Awareness and Education Department on +27 21 400 3298 / 2292.

On behalf of GreenEdge, lead communications and marketing consultants of the Jeffares & Green Consortium to the City of Cape Town’s WasteWise Programme.

Pic 1 Caption:

Left to Right:

Percival (Theko) Femela – Crossroads, Nyanga
Boniwe (Verrina) Hendricks – Phumlani Village, Lotus River
Sonwabo (Socks) Nkani – Grassy Park
Linda Alexander (back);
Leander van Oordt – Head: Public Awareness and Education for Solid Waste
Bonte Edwards (back) – Jeffares & Green Consortium
Nicodemus (Nicky) Johannes – Retreat
Esme Abrahams – Grassy Park
Mary Anne Richards – Retreat
Charlene Petersen – Lotus River

Pic 2 Caption:

Left to Right:
Merle Fred – SHARE Rapporteur
Sonia Hindley – SHARE Trainer
Bonte Edwards – Jeffares & Green Consortium