SA Affordable Housing May - June 2019 // Issue: 76 | Page 18

EVENTS
The municipal polystyrene recycling hubs in South Africa.
pressure on waste management companies and
government. In effect, we as an industry drive the
implementation of a feasible business, taking responsibility
for polystyrene earmarked for recycling into a BEE
entrepreneur-managed operation,” Spangenberg explains.
Initial plans are to establish three Trading Hub Clusters in
major metropoles including the Western Cape, Gauteng and
KwaZulu-Natal. The core focus of these clusters is to
facilitate the recycling of polystyrene in these provinces
and to ensure a constant supply of materials for use in the
décor market (cornices and picture frames), building market
(lightweight concrete bricks and screed), beads market
(hobbies and crafts) and the Polystyrene Association’s
Breadtags for Wheelchairs and Tutu Desk projects.
“Although sales volumes will be determined by the
capacity of the trading hub, it is estimated that the initial
output for each hub to be about 50 tons a month. The
current demand, however, already outstrips this figure
and this number must be urgently increased,”
Spangenberg explains.
POLYSTYRENE RECYCLING HUBS TO ADDRESS
HOUSING DEFICIT
The second initiative that was developed this past year, is
small-scale municipal polystyrene recycling hub (MPRH)
facilities for small- to medium-sized municipalities situated
in outlying areas of South Africa.
Each Municipal Polystyrene Recycling Hub integrates the
collection and recycling of polystyrene into a usable form.
Lightweight cement blocks and screed will be manufactured
on site, which will be used to build houses and clinics in
each district.
“The lack of affordable housing and the need to create
employment for communities are two of the biggest
socio-economic needs facing South Africa today. Combined
with our mounting waste crisis and need for proper waste
infrastructure that needs to be developed, local
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MAY - JUNE 2019
municipalities are facing a great challenge. However, we
believe these recycling hubs will play an important role in
growing the polystyrene recycling value chain and provide
much needed job creation, transformation and recycling
initiatives at community level. In effect, it will bring the
solution of polystyrene recycling to the people to empower
them to improve their living standards and quality of life by
producing the material needed to address the housing crisis
in their immediate area,” she expands.
AN EXCITING FUTURE AWAITS
Plans to implement these innovative recycling hubs are
already underway. The Polystyrene Association has met
with selected municipalities to test and discuss the
implementation of pilot projects.
“We will launch our first pilot of a Polystyrene Recycling
Hub in partnership with the George Municipality in the
southern Cape later this year. Land for the project has
already been earmarked and discussions are well underway
to get the recycling hub off the ground as soon as possible,”
Spangenberg reveals. She adds that various other
municipalities are also showing a keen interest, including
the City of Cape Town and Drakenstein Municipality.
“These projects enable us to increase polystyrene
recycling in South Africa to 63.7 % (27 870 tons) a year by
2023 as the entire process is streamlined and centralised
under one roof within a geographical area. Because the
local community will be responsible for collecting and
sorting the polystyrene, various primary and secondary jobs
will be created, while at the same time also raising
awareness of polystyrene recycling.
“Our industry is excited to support this project, because
it demonstrates our commitment towards a green
environment and our country’s sustainable economic
development through job creation, technological
advancement and sustainable economic growth,”
Spangenberg concludes.
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