Waste management remains a significant challenge in parts of Bushbuckridge, where limited formal waste collection, inadequate recycling infrastructure and a history of illegal dumping place pressure not only on communities, but also on rivers and water sources in the area.
Changing that picture will take more than once-off clean-ups – it requires better systems, stronger infrastructure, local participation and opportunities for waste to be recovered and reused, rather than discarded.
This is the direction of work currently being supported through the Innovative Solutions for Waste (ISOW) partnership in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, with the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere (K2C) and Plastics SA among the local implementation partners.
Earlier baseline and feasibility work in Thulamahashe and Acornhoek examined existing waste-management systems and infrastructure through engagement with municipal representatives, waste reclaimers, landfill operations, local businesses and a buy-back centre. The studies are helping partners to build a better understanding of existing waste flows, collection systems and infrastructure, while exploring practical opportunities for waste beneficiation and local enterprise development.
A proposed Waste Beneficiation Centre is in the feasibility and planning stage, while wider efforts are also looking at how Separation at Source practices can be strengthened in the area. For K2C, part of this work includes exploring opportunities together with the community, for local SMMEs in areas such as waste sorting, baling and recycling.
On 17th July, around 200 people gathered in Thulamahashe Section B for a Mandela Day clean-up and recycling awareness campaign. Participants worked along the Sand River and surrounding community areas, removing litter and waste while raising awareness of the impacts of illegal dumping.
The location of the clean-up highlighted an important connection between waste management, water quality and community health. Where waste enters rivers and waterways, the consequences extend beyond untidy surroundings and become part of a broader challenge around healthy environments and access to clean water.
The day also provided an opportunity to introduce practical waste-separation systems at Eric Nxumalo High School and to launch a School Recycling Programme. Thirty-eight waste reclaimers took part in dedicated training, while indigenous trees were planted and shared with neighbouring schools and community members.
These activities support wider efforts to encourage Separation at Source in the Municipality and to involve communities directly in both understanding the waste challenge and to be part of conceptualising and implementing solutions. The event also emphasised the role of recycling, waste beneficiation and enterprise development in turning recovered materials into useful products and creating business opportunities.
The event brought together Plastics SA, K2C, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, the Mpumalanga Department of Health and participating Producer Responsibility Organisations. The attendance of Mpumalanga MEC for Health Ms S.J. Manzini and the Executive Mayor of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Cllr M.L. Moroane, also reflected growing recognition at senior municipal and provincial government level of the need to address waste-management challenges in the region.
While the Mandela Day campaign offered visible action, the longer-term work lies in building systems that make responsible waste management possible on a day-to-day basis. “A collaborative approach to waste management can help us build cleaner communities while creating sustainable green opportunities for local communities,” said Hope Morema, K2C / Plastics SA ISOW On-site Project Manager.
For Bushbuckridge, the path towards better waste management is still being built. But the combination of baseline and feasibility work, growing attention to Separation at Source, support for waste reclaimers, exploration of local SMME opportunities and greater engagement from government indicates a more coordinated response.
The challenge now is to keep that momentum moving, from cleaning up waste after it has been dumped, to building the systems, infrastructure and local opportunities that prevent it from becoming waste in the first place.
Lauren Booth
Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Communications Manager
