Totals since the 3rd of September:
| Total Recyclables Collected: 17845.5kg | Collected this week: +394.1kg |
| Rewards given out: 826 | Registered Participants: 571 |
TrashBack is a new social enterprise which incentivises disadvantaged communities to manage their own waste and recycle.
The potential benefits of this are threefold. Firstly, more waste will be recycled and thus directed away from landfills. Secondly, cleaner communities will result, instilling pride and dignity and a greater sense of place. Thirdly, the project can provide both informal and formal employment, contributing to local social upliftment.
TrashBack is not, however, just giving handouts. Instead, TrashBack acts as a platform to change apathy into action through an altered perception of waste. Communities are encouraged to take pride in their local environment and are rewarded for it.
How does it work?
The TrashBack uphinda-phindo! pilot was launched on the 3rd of September 2011 in Imizamo Yethu (IY), Hout Bay, in partnership with Thrive, a local NGO, and the Hout Bay Recycling Co-op (the local recycling depot). The pilot utilizes an incentive scheme that rewards top collectors for their efforts. When community members bring in a set volume of recyclables, they are issued with a certain number of points that are then registered under their personal profile on the uphinda-phindo! system. Those that have the most points at the end of each collection period are guaranteed a reward, with a predetermined number of rewards available for each collection period. Those who are not rewarded will not lose their points, instead all points of those who were not top collectors will carry over to the next collection period, whilst the points of those rewarded will be reset to zero. Rewards will consist of food, clothing, shopping vouchers, travel vouchers, stationary, airtime and high school textbooks. A lucky draw element may be added to the system in the near future as an additional incentive.
In summary, TrashBack’s uphinda-phindo! gives community members the opportunity to translate rubbish into rewards, simply by bringing us items which were previously considered to be worthless.
Proudly sponsored by:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In partnership with:
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The first new reward we have added is a trip to the 
Jonathan, Andrew and Nicholas from the Trashback team took three groups of three frenzied friends, one parent, as well as Nokwando (our resident Hout Bay recycling centre manager) and her son, to learn more about these majestic animals.
From, black-back jackal siblings, meerkats mates and bat-eared foxes who only eat insects, to cheetah look-a-likes (Servals), patient pacing caracals and an Anatolian Sheppard dog pup breeding programme, this was the place to be! And the kids certainly got the whole story, leaving all the dull moments in the ditch. When the time came to meet the cheetahs, a few nerves had to be conquered first, but our brave little troopers all got a chance to stroke the silky back of the biggest cat they would likely ever see up close.
designed by our “out-of-house” graphic designer were enjoyed by all, and the kids still had energy to beat us in a few running races. Happy bellies, happy souls and a lot learnt across the board, but still the most incredible part of it all was seeing their little personalities blossom when presented with the opportunity to express themselves.
To say the least, this pilot trip was an astronomical success! What made it even more so, was the fact that three bright and shiny London-style cabs took us to the venue and back in style, courtesy of 
