R Mabudafhasi: Thohoyandou clean up campaign

24 March 2009

Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Vhembe District Municipality: Councillor P Mdaka
Mayor of Thulamela Municipality: Councillor: T Makumbani
School principals
Volunteers and distinguished participants
Media of the media
Ladies and gentlemen

Our country has developed a reputation as one of the most beautiful places
on earth and we have to sustain this perception our visitors have about us.
Human life is embedded in the rest of nature and inextricable from it. We
therefore have a responsibility to protect nature for our livelihood and
survival and leave an environmentally sound legacy for future generations.

We can maintain the beauty of our environments through regularly cleaning
our households and public places such as taxi ranks, shopping centres, our
yards and other public places.

Turning waste into money

Studies and our own observation prove that recycling has a strong impact on
the creation of jobs. Recycling gives us the incentive of keeping our
environment clean whilst at the same time creating employment for us.

Our government is making investment by establishing waste management
infrastructure to sustain and create more jobs hat help to eradicate poverty.
This programme has been extended to several schools within Thulamela
Municipality boundaries and we wish that it be extended to other areas to
broaden the benefits to the environment and the households.

Buyisa-e-bag, a section 21 company established by government will enter into
important discussion with Thulamela Municipality aimed at setting up a buy back
centre where households will sell their waste.

Our government is striving to educate the waste primary generators,
consumers and business to prioritise recycling. By doing this we can begin to
create an informed public who can reduce waste and ensure landfill sites are
utilised for food production.

Importance of local government involvement

The local authority services communities directly everyday and is
strategically positioned to play a prominent role in promoting recycling. We
often encounter perceptions by local authorities who wrongly regard waste
management generally as being a low priority issue. This results in missed
opportunities for job creation through recycling. With sustainable jobs,
residents’ quality of life can be improved and so will be their affordability
status for municipal services.

Conclusion

We generate a huge amount of waste and must be mindful of how we dispose of
everything we use. Next time we go shopping, let us pause for a moment before
buying items and ask ourselves these questions:
What happens to a product that has come to the end of its lifetime? How much
packaging was provided? Can it be recycled? Is it biodegradable? Can it be
reconditioned and used again? Will it be thrown into landfill sites? Does the
original manufacturer allow you to return the product for recycling? All these
questions can be best answered through the reduce, re-use and recycle waste
management strategy everyone must adopt.

Reduce emphasises the need to avoid acquiring large quantities of items we
will finally not use, resulting in larger amount of waste. We are encouraging
people to use less and have smaller amount of waste.

For instance when we buy bread or prepare food for our families let’s always
ensure we have the quantity we need and whose leftovers will not be thrown
away. Let us also be wise and save money by making use of leftovers instead of
dumping them. We call this: Source reduction which is about reducing waste
before you purchase it, or by purchasing products that are not wasteful in
their packaging or use.

Re-use: You can also re-use materials in their original form instead of
throwing them away, or pass those materials on to others who could use them
too. You may also continue to use washable cups or travel mugs instead of
disposables. You can wash and reuse them as most of them will last for a long
time with many uses. They may not cost much to replace, but do come at a great
cost to the environment. Let us develop attitudes of using resources longer
like we do with bicycles, cars, washers, dryers.

We only need to repair them rather than replace them when they break. This
is another form of reuse. New is not always better, nor it is always necessary.
You'll be helping your environment and your bank balance will grow too.

When you do decide to replace something large and reusable, be sure to
donate the old one to charitable organisations like the Red Cross, churches and
the many others that are probably in your area. These groups repair the items
at less cost and then redistribute into other homes rather than landfills.

Recycle: Recycling occurs when you save and take reusable materials to
places where they can be remade into either the same product or new products,
rather than to just dump them. Making new items from recycled ones also takes
fewer energy and other resources than making products from brand new
materials.

Just about anything in your home, office or school that cannot be reused can
be recycled into some products. You would be amazed what can be done with a
recycled product. A recycled soda bottle, for example, can be made into
T-shirts, combs, or hundreds of other plastic goods that can be used for many
years. Even your brand new computer case might be made from ordinary recycled
plastics. And paper products can take on different forms as well. For an
example, an old phone book might become one of your school books or a
composition notebook. Your recycling mission is not impossible! In fact, it is
very simple.

If we all practise the three R’s waste management strategy everyday, we will
make a meaningful contribution to saving our environment, leave a healthy
legacy to future generations and most importantly, create sustainable jobs and
improve our material conditions. Let’s each one of us stop littering and teach
others to follow suit.

Thank you

Issued by: Department of Economic Development and Environment and Tourism,
Limpopo Provincial Government
24 March 2009