1 minute read
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ‘P’ WORD the Recycle Namibia Forum
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ‘P’ WORD
I“ f you are unsure of how you can contribute to the sustainability of Namibia, commit to recycling. It’s easier than you think, and the results will astonish you.” This is according to Jaco Venter, one of the founding members of the Recycle Namibia Forum. Jaco notes that recycling is such a simple process to follow in Namibia because “you can just put everything in one bag and the sorting is done for you.” The result is a positive contribution that eventually adds to the economy of
Namibia through the many “add-on activities” that come from recycling.
The RNF was started by business people and companies concerned about the impact of plastic on the environment: packaging. Plastic Packaging, Rent-A-Drum and Namibia Breweries, amongst others, have made it their mission to prioritise sustainability and set the standard by being part of the recycling solution in a way that promotes economic growth.
One of the most important projects on RNF’s calendar is the Schools Recycling Competition, in which forty-seven Namibian schools compete to see who can do the most for the environment. In January 2020, Dagbreek School – one of the competition’s top-performing participants – set up a drivethrough recycling drop-off in Windhoek to make it even easier for locals to recycle.
“The aim has always been to have a very good alliance between packaging and the environment,” says Jaco. “It sounds like it’s
JACO VENTER CO-FOUNDER RNF
two opposite worlds, but the one is part of the other. If we don’t manage the process, packaging will forever be a problematic commodity. So what we are trying to achieve is to get the best possible recycling percentages in Namibia. And I believe that because we are so small, it’s possible for us to become the best recycling country in Africa.”
