How You Can Help
Community support is vital to achieving a better recycling rate, which in turn has a huge impact on our economy. Plus, it helps waste reclaimers work more efficiently, and take even more paper and plastic to the right destinations.
Urban Surfer provides solutions to South Africa’s plastic waste issue through the integration of informal waste reclaimers. They are the people pulling trolleys containing paper and plastic waste that they sell to waste merchants for recycling. Between 80% and 90%* of South Africa’s plastic and paper is recycled by informal waste reclaimers. The economic impacts of this are significant. In 2014, reclaimers saved municipalities R750 million in landfill space.
The Urban Surfer project aims to recognise informal waste reclaimers as active and equal participants in political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental processes. Waste reclaimers who’ve joined the project in Gauteng – specifically Johannesburg for now – are also known as Urban Surfers.
The Urban Surfer project has been tracking 50 waste reclaimers since November 2021 as they covered more than 14,000km – on foot! – within just four months.
In March 2022, Kagiso “Khakha” Monaise, used the money he’d made from his waste reclamation work to open a small buy-back centre in Alexandra. The Urban Surfer project is clearly making a real, measurable difference.
Community support is vital to achieving a better recycling rate, which in turn has a huge impact on our economy. Plus, it helps waste reclaimers work more efficiently, and take even more paper and plastic to the right destinations.
Hippo.co.za got involved with the Urban Surfer project because we know the value of the waste reclaimer’s work. Informal waste reclaimers often face discrimination and ill treatment, despite providing a vital public service for free. While waste reclaimers can sell the recyclables they collect, they do not get paid for collecting or transporting it. This means that reclaimers face harsh working conditions and a lack of basic services.
Urban Surfer aims to improve working conditions, create awareness around the value they bring and change policy to increase the earning potential of informal waste reclaimers. Hippo.co.za wants to help with that and make a difference to the Urban Surfers, as well as the communities they service and the environment.
"We hope to help the Urban Surfer team to achieve their goal of a waste-free South Africa by sponsoring their team of 50 informal reclaimers. We’re helping to change the narrative about informal reclaimers in the hopes of inspiring more corporates and private citizens to support them."
-Bradley Du Chenne, Hippo.co.za CEO
Hippo.co.za is currently the main sponsor of the Urban Surfer pilot project for 50 of the informal waste reclaimers who work with them. Our sponsorship includes trolleys, collection bags, rain cover (which, when used with the trolley, can serve as a temporary shelter) and gear to help them gather recyclable waste in their communities more safely.
"Partnering with Hippo.co.za enables us to make a difference in so many waste reclaimers’ lives. For me, it’s about making a difference and giving the informal waste reclaimers back their dignity. Giving them better tools to work with, a chance to make more income, and providing shelter for the ones who are homeless. We hope in the future that we will be able to make a difference to many more than the 50 lives we are helping now, as there are so many in need."
-Ivor Allison, Urban Surfer MD
"Hippo’s commitment to our waste reclaimer programmes shows that our passion for environmental conservation, as well as our commitment to the upliftment of waste reclaimers, as a poor and destitute group of exceptionally hard-working people, does not fall on deaf ears.”
-Sifiso Gumbi, Urban Surfer Recycler Relations Officer
For more information about the Urban Surfer project or to enquire about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.urbansurfer.co.za or contact:
