African Design Magazine October 2015 | Page 74

Feature Recycling Awards Gold Award Winners: Gavin Paulsen and Keith Walters (Lavaplastic), Ruben Brandt and Lance Kallis (Mpact Containers), Trevor Anthony Carol (City of Cape Town), Janine Charters and Loutjie de Jongh (Mpact Plastic Containers), Ian Oliver and Eunice Smit (City of Cape Town) and Stoffel Smit (Trogtek). The new bins carry a 10 year guaranteed and are subject to all the testing and performance requirements as stipulated in SANS 1494:2007. The City accumulates broken and damaged refuse bins which are collected, cleaned and processed – all under the control of the City and the manufacturer in order to ensure an auditable trail. Currently, there are approximately 800 000 bins serviced weekly throughout the Mother City. “The Fifty/50 wheelie bin is ground breaking in that the City of Cape Town ignored the traditional concerns with regards to recycled products and compiled a specification for their product in order to ensure reliable, robust and quality performance. They created the first closed loop system of its kind set up between a public authority and a private manufacturer to ensure a steady supply of recyclate. In the last 7 months alone, the City of Cape Town collected 391 tons of bin material in exchange of new Fifty/50 bins. The judges agreed that this was a text book example of how the entire process should be managed as it paves the way for other municipalities in South Africa to follow suit,” commented Anton Hanekom, Executive Director of Plastics|SA and one of the judges of this year’s competition. 74 “Recycling is not regarded as a very glamorous industry. Conditions are tough and the work hard, but it is an industry that is fueled by passion and creativity. The SAPRO Best Re