Super easy waste minimisation for Gauteng

In many areas of the City of Cape Town, recycling is no longer something you wonder how to participate in, where to deliver your waste, or whom to call. Some of us - certainly here in the Helderberg - are lucky to have the most jacked up domestic and industrial waste minimisation system in the country.

Our clean recyclables are collected from our homes or businesses once a week like clockwork, so there’s no excuse for anyone dumping resources that could join the recycling loop. It’s true that some of us started the first recycling initiatives here more than 20 years ago, so our waste education efforts started early on. WastePlan, our service provider is on the ball, sharp, clean and reliable.

I so often get calls from up country from people asking how they can go about having their waste recycled - green with envy at how easy it is here.

Recycling service for Gauteng

So today I have good news for some of you. It has finally happened. WastePlan quietly set up shop in Pretoria last year! So I had a chat with Herman Steenkamp (below), general manager of WastePlan Gauteng. Currently they are providing commercial waste minimisation and recycling services in Pretoria, Midrand and Johannesburg.

They started working with 2 hotels in Midrand in May 2010, where they do onsite waste management. That means there are Wasteplan staff members working on the client’s premises looking after their waste management, sorting and cleaning full time. General waste is disposed to landfill and recyclables are collected for further processing.

WastePlan also bought over Greenwize recycling in January 2011. This business had been doing school and public drop off collections in Pretoria for years and after incorporating its services, WastePlan now looks after the recycling of 20 schools in Pretoria. At one school - St. Mary’s DSG in Hatfield - they do onsite waste management to look after the whole complex’s waste separation and minimisation.

Mission 1: reduce waste to landfill

Altogether 50 permanent staff members are now employed by WastePlan Gauteng. There are 18 sorters working at the materials recovery centre (MRF) in Waltloo, Pretoria. They service various businesses: hospitals, shopping centres, offices and distribution centres.

WastePlan’s main mission is to reduce their client’s waste to landfill, which means they can save them money. Herman explains how it works exactly:

• First a waste audit is done.
• The source of all the waste is investigated and a new system for separation at source designed.
• WastePlan works out what difference they can make in volumes and therefore costs. What are the real costs, including all the factors which are often overlooked?
• A staff member is placed onsite to remove recyclables from the waste stream.
• The rest of the waste is disposed of in the most cost effective way.
• Reporting is done on all waste and recycling volumes.
• WastePlan also helps with the management of hazardous waste.

Mission 2: save you money

‘Our clients don’t need to worry about their waste. We take care of it and help them to comply with legislations as well as to achieve their recycling goals. If we can’t save them money, we don’t get involved,’ says Herman.