March 4, 2015 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
Teachers from Yomelela Primary School enjoying a day out at Intaka
On the 12th December Take Heart, WNS and Recycle Swop Shop treated the teachers and staff from Yomelela Primary School Khayelitsha to a day out at Intaka Island. It was wonderful to see all the teachers arrive with such excitement and enthusiasm for the day and all dressed in white. ๐
35 minute boat trip along the Grand Canal
They firstly went in groups of 15 on tranquil ferry ride on the Grand Canal and around Intaka Island, enjoying the fresh air, wild life and the surrounding beauty of Century City. They were told about this majestic 16ha wetland and bird sanctuary and introduced to all the different ways to recycle. Once they had worked up an appetite they all returned to the Eco Center, where a delicious lunch and refreshments awaited them. They finished off with a hot cup of coffee and cup cakes, thanks to Marie and Marianne from Life Changers Church.
Teachers & their goody bags
Lastly they all went into the function room where Maria van der Westhuizen, Project Manager of the Recycle Swop Shops, gave a 10 minute presentation about the Recycle Swop Shop at their school. This was followed by Hema, from WNS who thanked the school and the Principle for their wonderful attitude and support of this project. They were then each presented with a bumper pack goody bag.
March 4, 2015 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
Volunteers received their certificatates in Du Noon
Over the year we have had the amazing support of some special community members from all the areas where we run Recycle Swop Shops. They have faithfully volunteered each week for 25 tokens, doing a variety of roles. Our community volunteers continue to learn new skills and their assistance in the project is invaluable. It is for this reason that we have brought in a system where we acknowledge the work they have done by giving certificates of achievement. These certificates can be for length of service, skills gained, knowledge and management of the different waste streams and the ability to work in a team.
Wesbank volunteers with their certificates of achievements
We had some really special celebration times in December last year when we presented the certificates at each of the volunteers at our 3 Recycle Swop Shops. We are trusting this has installed pride, confidence and will promote skills development. Thank you to our volunteers from Wesbank; Evelynne, Nathely, Elizabeth, Stephen, James, Vanessa, Sophia, Ronnie and Annie. Thank you to our volunteers from Du Noon; Margaret, Gcobisa, Nomsa, Carliswa, Sylvia, Mgqibelo, Lerato, Ordance, Constance, Thandi, Joyce and Lindiwe. Thank you to our volunteers from Khayelitsha; Nomaphelo, Cecilia, Nophlydile, Albertina, Boy-Boy, Nomasomi, Namazizi, Nokwanda, Franscheska and Nosayimile.
Thank you Columbus Chemicals for the chemiclas for our amazing volunteers in Khayelitsha
Thank you to Elkanah Recycling Commitee for sponsoring lunch, refreshments and goody bags for the volunteers from Du Noon. To Columbus Chemicals for sponsoring chemicals to the volunteers in Khayelitsha and Take Heart for the lunch, refreshments and goody bags to our volunteers in Wesbank. Well done to you all! You make us so proud and its such a pleasure to have worked with you through 2014.
August 14, 2014 / by admin / 1 Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
On the 30th July we ran our first collection at Yomelela Primary School and what a turn out we had! 860 learners brought bags of recycling! We collected 732kg of plastic, that’s 32 huge bulk bag!! It is by far the best response we have had from any of our 1st collection at Recycle Swop Shop!
We are amazed by this school, the learners, teachers and Principle! The teachers helped to keep order and the children listened well, we noticed how respectful and tentative they were towards their teachers too. Thank you to Theresa and her team of 9 community volunteers, they did a great job sorting all the recycling. Thank you to the joyful Brazilian Interns from Ikhaya le Themba, who helped too.
Swop Shop
We ran our 1st Swop Shop on the 7th August and it was a huge success. The children were happy with the items they exchanged for their hard earned tokens. Thank you to all those that helped, the teachers rocked, Louise was amazing at the door and Corrinne kept her cool on the, extremely busy, 1 token table. Bobby Teichert and her team of joyful Brazilian Interns were back to help at the tables, with a few new dance moves!! ikhaya le themba made sure we had plenty of 2nd hand clothes, shoes, toys and home house goods, thank you! Big thank you to our sponsors WNS and to Africa Floorcare.
August 13, 2014 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
The children of Yomelela Primary school
The 23rd July 2014 was the launch of our 3rd Recycle Swop Shop at Yomelela Primary School Khayelitcha. Thanks to Zoliswa, the amazing Principle; Bongi, Recycling Champion Teacher; Hema from WNS our main sponsor and Theresa, Ikhaya ie themba we have partnered together to make this project possible. What an amazing team!
Nampak white paper bins
We were all there, bright an early, for a 8am start of the launch assembly at Yomelela. Thanks to Nampak for the white paper bins which will be placed in each class room.
Also a big thank you to Waste Plan for the recycling bags and to the WNS employees for their 67 minutes community time given to us to fold 1000 bags.
All the learners received a neatly folded Waste Plan recycling bag and leaflet explaining what to bring
There was much excitement as the 950 learners filled the outside quad area and queued in their class lines. The teachers and learners explained how the swop shop works and the City of Cape Town with Cape Town drama students did a short performance about waste awareness and the importance of recycling. It was very entertaining and everyone had fun!
Thank you to all those that attended and especially to our sponsors WNS and Africa Floorcare. Looking forward to our first collection on the 30th July 2014! ๐
August 13, 2014 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
We received our flag from Premier Helen Zille on 16th July at the Spier Mandela Day: 67 minute event.
We are proud to have been awarded a flag from 110% Green, an initiative of the Western Cape Government calling organisations to commit to the Green Economy.
The Western Cape Government launched the 110% Green initiative on World Environment Day 2012 as a call to action to all organisations to link Green with the Economy. A Flagship is an organisation (be it a municipality, NGO or business) that has made more than the usual commitment towards the Green Economy. They have taken up the call towards building an economy that connects the well-being of our environment with the growth of our economy.
August 13, 2014 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
Recycle Swop Shop at Inkwenkwezi High School, Du Noon.
Wow! What an amazing gift! Thank you to Container World for donating a 12m fully kitted out container to the Recycle Swop Shop at Inkwenkwezi High School, Du noon. It was delivered on the 30th June 2014 and skillfully put into place by Buntu the driver. Huge thanks to Anthony from Container World, who made sure it came with shelving, hanging space and light fittings. We are blown away by Container World’s kind act of generosity.
Lovely shelves for our stock
This wonderful container will allow us to have our own space to run our swop shop. We used to run the swop shop in the school hall which had its setup challenges and we then moved into a temporary 6m container that is used by the school for storage. The school’s 6m container was very dark, cold and cramped. Having a large area to host the shop will enable us to expend our reach to include the learners and increase the numbers of community participants. We will be able to keep our stock in the container which will make our general running experience much easier. We also intend to utilise the space for further school and community upliftment programs.
The support of companies like Container World make it possible for our project to exist and makes the community a great place to live in.
Thank you once again to all the companies, local community and schools that assist, sponsor and choose to partner with Recycle Swop Shop. ๐
July 16, 2014 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
Group photo on Table Mountain
It was a beautiful March day in Cape Town as the volunteers from the Du Noon Recycle Swop Shop and Wesbank met at the foot of Table Mountain for our trip up Table Mountain. Every year we have had the privilege of working, training and getting to know our group of volunteers and this is our way to say, โThank youโ, for all their hard work. This group of dedicated people, give their time and energy to the Recycle Swop Shop each week and we honestly could not run it without their help.
A big thank you to Table Mountain Cable Car Company for sponsoring our 20 tickets. Also a huge thank you to T.M.F. and Crime Watch for sponsoring our delicious lunch and refreshments. Thank you to Save All who made sure our Wesbank volunteer arrived safely.
Its always so interesting to see the different reactions from many of out volunteers that have never been up the Mountain, especially when the revolving cable car starts to ascend!! We send out words of reassurance and soon they relax and enjoy the panoramic view of our beautiful city. Once at the top there was much excitement, which naturally caused a great need for some food. We eagerly ate our lunch of roast chicken, salad, rolls and apples, washed down with juice and finally a delicious chocolate brownie baked and donated to us by Shelly Anderson. Yum!
Maria thanked everyone for their participation, hard work and their team spirit. She reminding them that at Recycle Swop Shop they are gaining environmental education and skills training that will help them realise recycling as a possible entrepreneurial opportunity. Louise and Maria also told everyone how much they meant to us and what a privilege it has been getting to know them all. They handed out goodie bags filled with toiletries and extra yummy snacks, thank you to The City of Cape Town for the bright orange bags.
Later we spent an hour wondering around and enjoying the beauty and rich biodiversity that can be seen all over Table Mountain. We all agreed that working towards keeping Cape Town a cleaner city was very fulfilling and spending the day on the Mountain made us appreciate that even more. What a fabulous day!
April 16, 2014 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
A group of 10 Representative Committee Learner members from Inkwenkwezi Secondary School Dunoon; the caretaker, Frank; two teacher’s, Seti and Mrs Mphunga and the Principle Mr Kutu, visited Elkanah High on Wednesday 19th March 2014. On this exciting day we hoped that two very diverse schools would learn and share their own experiences about their respective recycling projects.
The morning started with the hustle & bustle of learners arriving at Elkanah carrying bags of recycling. The bags were then counted by volunteers and reward stickers were handed out. Elkanah High is a great example, that with innovative and appropriate initiatives, high school students can be encouraged to bring recycling and participate in a worthy environmental project.
By about 8.15am the action started to fizzle out and the last of the community members dropped their recycling.
Our group was then led into the school cafeteria where over a croissant and coffee we listened to a few speakers. The Recycle Committee shared their projects successes and Debi Schuiling encouraged the RLC to go back to Inkwenkwezi, be the difference and be a voice for the recycling project in the school. We were so encourage by all the excellent work that is being done by the Recycling Committee at Elkanah. Maria, from the Recycle Swop Shop, explained the processes around the recycling project at Inkwenkwezi and what is offered in the swop shop.
Lastly both the Head of RLC and the Principle, Mr Kutu, thanked everyone for a wonderful morning and spoke about the Recycle Swop Shop project and how they were committed to see the project continue to be a success.
Thank you all for a great morning and a special thank you to Elkanah for the goodie bags and for hosting this wonderful event.
December 10, 2013 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
Community volunteers
We’ve had a great year at Wesbank No. 1 Primary school where we have been running the Recycle Swop Shop since March 2013. Our partnership with the school and the Head Master Mr Greg Gordon have been amazing, also our team of project leaders from TMF, Save All and Recycle 1st have insured this project has been a success.
Effects on the community
A small smile, a big step!
There is a little boy, Maxwell; he is eight years old but sadly has the body of a 4 year old. He regularly comes with his recycling to swop shop and on the 4th of December, the last day of Swop Shop, he brought his parents to meet us and for the first time we saw him smile!! ๐ It was a very proud smile! We are so touched by the children and community at Wesbank No.1 primary school and we continue to see how their lives are being changed.
Weโre seeing an increase in the amount of plastic being collected and the learners and community are enthusiastic and understand the general workings of this project. We are seeing an increasing amount of older folk attending swop shop and this is certainly encouraging in terms of educating the younger members of the family and also in terms of providing for the needs of the older generation.
The learners make up the majority of the participants at Swop Shop and at our last collection day there were over 250 children! There is a real social buzz at swop shop in Wesbank and itโs wonderful to see the ladies meeting each other and discussing not only recycling issues but also their home groups and get togethers. One lady made a comment that Wesbank has never been so clean. Thatโs so great to hear!
Lollypops given to all!
Thank you to Brenda Evans and Sybil Vermeulen, who generously donated 1000 lolly pops to hand out to the children attending the Recycle Swop Shop at Wesbank no 1 primary school and Inkwenkwezi secondary school.
The total recyclables collected from March to November 2013:
| Description |
Sum of Quantity (Kgs) |
| White Paper |
1670 |
| Cardboard |
3763 |
| Newspaper and Mags |
3120 |
| Tetrapak + common Mix |
337 |
| PET |
5761 |
| HD (2) |
454.5 |
| Polyprop |
385 |
| Soft Plastic |
787 |
| Tops |
311 |
| Mixed Plastic |
173 |
| Tins |
817 |
Glass |
40 |
| Grand Total |
17,618.5 |
Provided by Recycle 1st
December 3, 2013 / by admin / Make A Comment / Filed under Swop Shop
The teacher and staff were thrilled with their goodie bags!
What a wonderful morning we all had yesterday! Beyond Education loves to bring upliftment and change to our schools and we were able to make a difference to these hard working Teachers and Staff at Inkwenkwezi secondary school in Du noon by treating them to lunch, refreshments and goodie bags. The school was further treated to Kalahari.com book vouchers for the school library and thanks to Columbus Chemicals generous donation, we were able to give 75L of liquid hand soap.
Maria's presentation on the Recycle Swop Shop
The morning started with a short presentation given by Maria van der Westhuizen about the Recycle Swop Shop. Maria shared progress and statistics from 2013, exciting plans for 2014 and tips on how the teacher’s can participate & get involvement with this project.
Louise presenting the photo collage of Recycle Swop Shop 2013
Louise Vonofakidis presented the school with a beautiful collage of some photos taken at Recycle Swop Shop during the year. Thank you to Danielle Vonofakidis for her lovely art work.
Mr Kutu and Seti, TLO
It was all smiles and applauds from the Teachers and Head Master, when the liquid soap from Columbus Chemicals, was given to the school. Thank you to Columbus Chemicals for their generous donations and support of our project.
Kalahari.com book vouchers for the school library from Beyond Education
Maria van der Westhuizen presented Mr Kuku with the library book vouchers from Beyond Education. This was received very gratefully and another huge applause broke out among the teachers and staff.
Mr Kutu, Head Master thanking Beyond Education
Mr Kutu thanked Maria and Louise for their hard work and for the partnership with Beyond Education. He encouraged this staff to get involved and embrace the project.
Goodie Bags
50 goodie bags were then given to all the teachers and staff at Inkwenkwezi secondary school. Thank you to Woolworths, City of Cape Town, Community Chest and De Fayebosch for their generous donations. Everyone was very excited and thrilled!
De Fayebosch platters, yummy lunch!
Thank you to Welma, De Fayebosch for the delicious platters and lavender bags. The teachers and staff finally tucked into their lunch and really enjoyed it!
