Pioneering Lansdowne duo start free recycling collection service

New Earth Projects is a free recycling collection service operating from the Lansdowne area servicing close to 1 000 homes and counting. Photo: Supplied

New Earth Projects is a free recycling collection service operating from the Lansdowne area servicing close to 1 000 homes and counting. Photo: Supplied

Published Oct 15, 2019

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Cape Town – A passion for the environment and their community inspired Lansdowne residents Wade Kleinhans and Chad Cuddumbey to start a free recycling collection service where there was none before.

New Earth Projects currently services close to 1 000 homes, and the goal is to expand its green footprint even wider.

The duo collect and sell recyclable materials as well as promote recycling education and sustainable living.

Their idea started in early 2015 when Kleinhans and Cuddumbey decided they wanted to do more for their community.

“After doing research on impoverished communities we saw that we can use recycling collection as an opportunity to create further employment opportunities in our community,” said Cuddumbey. “We started in a house driveway in order to collect and sort waste to be sold in 2015, then expanded and became registered in mid-2017.”

Currently employing five permanent employees, they slowly expanded their community network by connecting with the local ward office as well as with neighbourhood groups, security companies and civic associations.

This resulted in the expansion of the project which now services all areas in ward 60, including Crawford, Lansdowne, Kenwyn, Rondebosch East and Sybrand Park.

In the new year, they are looking to further expand this footprint into other wards.

In 2016 the duo also initiated the Zero Waste community initiative, where they weekly provided 100% recycled sponsored Tuffy bags to residents for separation and sorting.

“Although our Zero Waste Community initiative is a free service, we do charge for collections that are out of our Zero Waste Community ward zones,” said Cuddumbey.

Their future ambitions are to build 3D printed educational tools and toys from plastic waste.

“We discovered the amount of plastic waste being left in informal settlements and thought about it being collected and used to create 3D filament.

“3D printing is a well-known technology that we would like to explore and promote into the recycling industry, informal settlements and communities to show what can be created from recyclable waste.

“Once funding opportunities arise we will purchase the machinery to process plastic recycling into 3D printer filament, which will then be used to create anything that can be 3D printed.

“The educational tools and toys will be sensory and visual aids for early childhood development centres. We will not sell the toys itself.

“Instead we will be selling recycled 3D Filament which can then be used to create anything that can be 3D printed,” Cuddumbey said.

The drop-off address is 4 Castor Road Lansdowne/Nerissa Estate.

They can also be contacted on [email protected] or 073 511 9859.

Cape Times

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