March 2022, Droogfontein Solar Power.
A vehicle to assist with recycling waste collections and deliveries has been funded to a local youth-owned micro-business, ‘Move-On-Up, which collects, separates, and recovers recyclables, as part of a local development initiative. This entity is one of the SMMEs benefiting from development support that forms part of Droogfontein Solar Power’s Enterprise Development Programme, which has a keen focus on fostering the growth of SMMEs within the Sol Plaatje Municipal District.
As part of their ongoing support for youth-owned SMMEs, the solar plant stepped in to provide the much-needed support of a truck to help reduce the amount of recycling collection loads and increase the enterprise’s efficiency and productivity, which will in turn improve business viability and offer growth opportunity.
“The incineration of waste results in an irreversible and harmful environmental legacy, which rural South Africa cannot afford. Recycling and re-using are fundamentally responsible for reducing net environmental impact, as well as providing a sustainable social business model. Thus, we have chosen to support this local business in this way,” explained Zuki Ndlela, Economic Development Officer of Droogfontein Solar Power.
Approximately 75% of Kimberley’s waste stream ends up on landfill sites, with most of this waste being burned, causing harm to the environment. As a result, recovering recyclables enables this 100% black-owned enterprise to decrease the air-pollution levels associated with landfills, which in the long run reduces the pressure on the environment. ‘Move-On-Up’ accomplishes this through established relationships with local recycling partners, in the area.
Droogfontein Solar Power’s SMME development initiatives aim to assist and accelerate the sustainability of local enterprises by ploughing financial resources into the areas of Kimberley, Riverton, Ritchie, and Barkly West areas.