Efficient and sustainable waste management is a significant challenge in many parts of South Africa. The City of Cape Town, having grown by almost a million people since 2011 to reach 4.7 million in 2023, is no exception. One of the most difficult categories of waste to deal with is “Absorbent hygiene products” (AHPs) - a broad category of products that includes nappies, sanitary pads, tampons, adult incontinence products and personal care wipes. This kind of post-consumer waste cannot be recycled and is usually disposed of either via landfill or through incineration.

In emerging countries like South Africa, used nappies and sanitary pads often never even reach landfills, leading to potential public health hazards and a hugely negative impact on the environment. In response, people in communities such as Langa are driving initiatives to reduce the negative impacts of such waste, sometimes with support from corporate stakeholders.

In a legal environment where producers are liable for the waste the use of their products generates ("Extended Producer Responsibility Act"),  “Bright Bin” is a great example of such initiatives.

In 2023, Bright Bin benefited from a grant from Kimberly-Clark to test the collection of used nappies in Langa.  Research conducted in the township established that Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs) would be the most adapted place to collect nappies from.

Although Kimberly-Clark stopped funding Bright Bin in November 2024, it allowed the organisation to keep using the brand name for the following year. Brenda Skelenge, who drove the initiative, managed to keep the operations going by establishing strong relationships with other organisations who see an interest in keeping the initiative alive (VPUU & YES).

The Extended Producer Responsibility Act offers Bright Bin the opportunity to expand its focus to other material and the potential to be supported by other companies than only Kimberly-Clark  such as NewCo (Drypers) or Procter (Pampers & Tampax), etc…

In parallel to the nappies collection scheme, Brenda identified an opportunity in offering reusable nappies to parents at ECDs. She is currently testing a service offering the cleaning of 4 nappies per child in 4 ECDs for a total of 28 children.

Brenda could benefit from your help structuring both these activities (that can appear as competing) and develop accurate marketing and communication material (the name “bright bin” – property of Kimberley Clark may have to be abandoned soon).

Fast facts:

8 people employed through the Youth Employment programme

·       Bright bins is collecting nappies from 15 ECDs in Langa on a weekly basis (Tuesdays).

·       The used nappies are taken to a central point in the township (Ikhaya Le Langa – Link) then collected by a specialised waste management operator, AVERDA (link) at a cost of month R2,500 per month.