Durban - The Manning Road Methodist Church eco-team that has been collecting recyclable bottles and papers for three years is excited to have reached a milestone of 100 000 glass bottles collected from October 2020 to February this year.
The team, stationed on the premises of the church in Glenwood, started collecting in Bulwer Park, Blue Lagoon and from fellow congregants. Richard Nevile, 64, and Brenda Rowsell, 62, began counting the bottles when they became involved in the project.
In December 2021, they collected 44 000 bottles. By February 14 this year, they had a total of 100 000 bottles. Their new goal is to reach 150 000 by the end of August.
“The team has decided to set a goal of 525kg for the second half of this year. We are on target to reach it. If we achieve that goal, we would have taken one ton of other recyclable items in one year,” said Nevile.
“Creating an awareness and encouraging community members to engage in responsible recycling behaviour is one of our primary goals. We hope the initiative will also help us teach the young ones about the importance of keeping the environment clean and improving good recycling habits,” said Nevile.
The eco-team picks up plastic bottles seven days a week in and around the Glenwood area, and keeps the collected items at the Manning Road Methodist Church. Residents and church members also deliver glass bottles and other recyclable items to them. The items are separated and placed in the correct recycling banks which are collected when they are full.
Rowsell, from Bulwer Park, said she was driven by the need to keep the environment clean and encourage others to be conscious of the environment.
The Methodist Church eco-team works with three recycling organisations in Durban: The Glass Recycling Company in KwaMashu, Mpact Recycling Durban in KwaMashu and Pinetown, and Andy’s Scrap Metals in Clairwood.
Nevile is a full-time employee as a caretaker at the Manning Road Methodist Church and both have been members of the congregation for years.
The Independent on Saturday