On the 11th of June a crowd gathered at the WILDLANDS Recycling Depot in Midmar, Howick (KwaZulu-Natal) to officially launch WISH – Waste, Innovation & Solutions Hub. WISH has been enabled by Dow, who have made a global commitment to address plastic pollution, and ensure that plastic waste does not enter our environment, but is treated as too valuable to be lost to waste. WISH is also a result of a partnership with ‘The Pyrolysis Group’ in Association with USE-IT, a Durban based recycling non-profit.
Speaking at the WISH launch, WILDLANDS Recycling Manager Hanno Langenhoven said: “I am excited and privileged to be part of a journey that looks at real solutions to the waste problem. If we fail to transcend the focus on recycling and come up with value-add solutions, we will continue to struggle with the ever-increasing waste problem, as well as consequential negative environmental impacts and health issues.”
The WISH launch uncovered an extra-ordinary brick machine, glass crusher and pyrolysis machine.
The brick machine is a South African developed solution that builds on work of this kind globally. The ‘green brick’ that this machine produces – uses no water, no cement and no sand in its production – a world first. The 14kg building brick is made from 30% plastic and 70% glass, weighs less than a normal building brick and is much stronger. The machine can produce 200 building blocks per day, ultimately diverting 9.8kgs of glass and 4.2kgs of plastic per block from landfill daily.
“The long-term vision is to place brick plants wherever the plastic problem persists, especially in communities with a lack of, or poor, service delivery. In the medium term we hope to have 4 brick machines in operation at our Midmar facility, with a focus on providing bricks for use in WILDLANDS’ community development projects, as well as supplying surrounding communities,” said Langenhoven.
“A setup like this becomes economically viable and self-sustainable when industry take responsibility for the packaging they put into the market,” said Langenhoven. “We are excited to have partnered with local confectionary manufacturer, Wedgewood Crafted Confectionery, who are doing just this, becoming plastic neutral and contributing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fee for every kg of plastic that it uses in its operations and packaging.”
“The glass crushing machine allows us to crush glass on site and separate it into 4 different grades,” said Langenhoven. “Some of the glass goes into our bricks and we are currently exploring other potential markets. Different grades of glass have different applications, from use in golf course sand bunkers and sand blasting, to chemical and water filtration.”
Pyrolysis, the breaking down of something using fire (pyro + lysis) is a very well-known solution worldwide. However, the combination of a small-scale reactor and a small-scale refinery to turn plastic into a fuel, is a world first. “We have successfully demonstrated that we can turn polypropylene into plastic fuel and that it can be used to power a diesel vehicle,” said Langenhoven.
“By joining forces with partners such as WILDLANDS who are already making inroads in tackling poor waste management, we are changing the conversation around plastics and their value for society,” said Javier Constante, Commercial Vice President, Packaging and Specialty Plastics Business EMEA at Dow. “Even after plastics have fulfilled their initial purpose, they have significant value and should be treated as important resources and recycled whenever possible. Investments like the WISH centre are enabling all partners in the plastics value chain to more towards a circular economy.”
Adwoa Coleman, Dow Africa Sustainability and Advocacy Manager, speaking at the event commented, “Dow is working to ensure a circular economy for plastics and a significant part of that involves innovation in second life solutions for plastic waste. This will drive value for the post-consumer plastic to make it a resource instead of waste. Our partnership with Wildlands is enabling innovations and solutions that will drive this to ensure no more plastics end up in the environment.”
“Making fuel and building material from plastic and other waste sources open doors to exciting opportunities for getting rid of waste as well as empowering and uplifting communities,” concluded Langenhoven.
News supplied by WildTrust.
Members of the Laddsworth Chess Team took part in the Inter-Schools Junior School Chess Championships, held at The Wykeham College on Monday 3 June 2019.
Recently, Engineering Fitness hosted their Self Preservation Seminars with Wayne. He has been a valuable asset to the team, taking these seminars and downloading such valuable information to us. If you missed out on the last three sessions, you are welcome to get a group of ladies together and book your own sessions with him. We would highly recommend this. Self Preservation is a vital skill to know and have, being aware of, and learning how to, get up and out of a life-threatening situation.
In celebration of World Environment Day, a day that encourages citizen-action to improve our environment, Woolworths has announced a partnership aimed at increasing recycling rates in South Africa. The new initiative is a trial that will upgrade two existing WILDLANDS recycling villages and open three additional recycling villages in popular KwaZulu-Natal shopping centres where there are Woolworths’ stores. WILDLANDS recycling villages, which are at the forefront of recycling and the recycling circular economy in South Africa, are part of a well-established WILDTRUST programme. Other partners include Dow, Nedbank and YES (Youth Employment Service).
Hi, I am Leanne Jarvel, Goldclub agent, and I have been with Pam Golding Properties in Hilton since 2015.
Laddsworth pupils, Amy Goddard (Grade 6) and Camryn Heafield (Grade 7) successfully auditioned for the production of ‘Cinderella and the Prince’ on the 1st of April 2019 in Pietermaritzburg.
The Rotary club of Howick and Hilton is working with the Rotary Cycle Project in South Africa, together with Bicycles for Humanity in the United States. A container of about 500 pink bicycles (20inch) has arrived in Durban and is ready to make its way up to Howick for us to distribute to our community schools.
Jonathan Werth competed in the KwaZulu-Natal Duathlon Championships on Sunday, 19 May 2019 in Durban. He finished first in the 12 to 13 age group category. Jonathan had to do a 2,5 Km run, a 10 Km cycle and a 1,25 Km run.
Security Advice for the holiday season
On Saturday 8th June, Graham Wells (42) and Gerald Pavel (48) will be lining up in Pietermaritzburg to run to Durban, through the night, to then turn around and run the Comrades Marathon 2019 back to Pietermaritzburg.
Laddsworth pupils Nicholas Kruger (Grade 7) and Patrick Lamb (Grade 6) have been selected for the KwaZulu-Natal Primary School Swimming Team.
For the month of June, all our Aloes and our Euphorbia Firesticks will be reduced to only R30.00, while stocks last!
Cool Winds Pre-Primary will be hosting a Holiday Programme during the 2nd and 3rd week of the holidays, for children from other schools ages 4-10 years.
One of the highlights of Laddsworth Grade Four pupils was their annual Taste Tour, which was held on Thursday 30 June 2019. This involved research of a country of their choice during Media lessons and then presenting a poster about their respective country.
Winter is here and that means it is almost time for the annual Laddsworth Night Fun Run/Walk, which will be held on Thursday 13 June at 18h00. This popular fundraising event draws over 1000 entrants every year.
The Lineup for MiTH 5 June .