Bottles for Life Women’s Waste Management Project

Women Unlimited activities contributed to the establishment of new waste management company – Waste Life! They have moved from an unstructured group of waste collectors, struggling to make ends meet, to company directors and shareholders with their own business to run and manage!

Written By Thobekile Masilela

On February 15, 2023
Communications Specialist.
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Implementation Period

2022

Funders

UNDP, Catalyze

Implementing Partners

Ngwenya Glass

Stakeholders and Collaborating Partner

Eswatini Environment Authority, Mbabane Municipality, Mpolonjeni Community, Eclipse Solutions

Goal of The Project

To improve livelihoods of vulnerable women and youth, through a waste for livelihoods project focused on bottle recycling

Target Beneficiaries

Vulnerable Women and Youth in Hhohho peri urban area

 

 

Target Communities

Mpolonjeni Community

Project Activities

The project activities included:

  • the process of recruiting and Training of Waste Collectors and Project Team Capacity Building
  • Establishment and Commissioning of waste recycling centre in Mpolonjeni
  • Procurement of Machinery and Equipment
  • Linking waste group to markets and waste off-takers
  • Formalisation and Registration Waste Group as a commercial entity.
  • Production of decorative building materials for resale
  • Mentoring and Monitoring the new waste group

Summary Results

The project recruited 31 waste collectors (21 women and 7 youth and 3 men) who were trained in waste collection and bottle recycling. The Project has set up a glass sorting and recycling centre complete with glass crusher machine and facility for processing both coloured and clear glass. The recycling site is complete and fully commissioned with temporary shelter, electricity, water tank and glass crusher.

The beneficiary group has now been formally incorporated as a company and will now be expected to take up the project as it begins to be profitable. However, Women Unlimited is not completely withdrawing her mentorship and support, we will continue to guide and provide project oversight to the Waste Life Investments executives towards the same. We also anticipate to build upon this initiative for future interventions and continue to expand the project.The land for the site was acquired from the local Chief, and will also be used to setup decorative concrete slab moulding from coloured glass. The Glass Sand will be used as a coarse or fine aggregate, or as a partial cement substitute in a wide range of concrete-based products namely: Floor and wall tiles; Tombstones; Table counter tops; Benches; Vanity counters; Decorative cement pots and Garden furniture.

Impact

In total 17 women and youth have made it to the end and benefited from the initiative out of the initial 31 that were initially recruited. They are now registered as a company, “Waste Life Investments” and are fully operational on their own looking into more markets and opportunities in waste management – the sky is the limit.

Success Stories

Women Unlimited activities contributed to the establishment of new waste management company – Waste Life! They have moved from an unstructured group of waste collectors, struggling to make ends meet, to company directors and shareholders with their own business to run and manage!

Project Gallery

  Bottles for life project eswatini

Bottles for Life Initiative

Waste Life Project Team

 

 

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