April 1, 2003
By Tendai Dhliwayo
COLLECT-A-Can - whose major business is coordinating the recovery of used steel beverage cans - celebrated its tenth anniversary on Tuesday at The Castle in Kyalami.
According to a statement by Collect-A-Can, due to the model of recovery of beverage cans, "South Africa ranks among the top six countries in the world in its rate of recovery, and is well ahead of other materials such as paper, glass and plastic".
The Collect-A-Can initiative has reduced the rate of litter, which used to contribute to 8 percent of refuse in the country. The rate of recovery grew from 18 percent in 1993 to 64,2 percent in 2002.
"At a rate of 64,2 percent in 2002, Southern Africa has become a leader in terms of quoted recovery rates as it exceeded the rates for the US and European Union," says managing director, Nick Kock. He notes that such efforts have been recognised by the government, environmental and productivity institutions for contributing towards sprucing up the environment.
Founded in 1993 as a joint venture between Iscor and Nampak, Collect-A-Can's objective has been to spearhead the recovery of used beverage cans as a vehicle for its shareholders' responsibilities towards the environment, said Kock.
Aside from cleaning up the environment, Collect-A-Can has created jobs and nearly "37 773 people are earning or supplementing their income through can recoveries", read a statement by the company. Poverty has also been alleviated as more than R270 million has been paid to collectors in the last 10 years.
