Resayklisha utawuphila imphilo lengcono/Recycle and you will live better is a project led by a German Volunteer Franziska Wiest. The project was part of Mpumalanga’s annual Summer Camp and took place at the Mataffin Scout Hall, with 300 participants including camp Leaders. The majority of the Scouts in Mpumalanga come from rural and disadvantaged areas. The camp theme was “Back to Basics”. The setup of the program was influenced by the theme which looked at the basics of scouting and how they can best be implemented. The programme included environment, culture, personal development, basic scouting skills, art and craft as well as adventure and fun topics.

Prior to the camp the Group partnered with Mbombela Municipality and they were able to help answer the group’s questions concerning Mbombela’s waste management. Another partner was Buscor, a transport company that sponsored 2 buses to take the Scouts to Nelspruit and the taxi rank, to inform the taxi drivers about their project.

Scouts were divided into 24 patrols and started a run for the most valuable waste products. The group collected waste such as cardboard boxes, cans, plastics and paper; they cleaned the bus terminal, the taxi rank and the market place of Nelspruit town. The waste collected was separated and recycled, the type of waste and the amount they separated formed part of the points they could gain. The competition points were as follows:

Cans = 5 points, Plastic bottles = 4 points, Plastic bags = 3 points, Bottle caps/tops = 2 points, Paper = 1 point.

The Groups were tasked to create their own arts and crafts. They used tools such as scissors, wire, wool and paint. The amount of waste collected by the Scouts was enormous and the creativity produced was amazing.

The Groups designed a fashion collection, kites that flew up to 20 meters in the sky, sculptures, bags, music instruments and many other great art works. The group who won the prize for the best art work designed a fashion collection. Their t-shirts were made out of plastic bags with the sentence: “Make it a trend”

With this project the Scouts were able to demonstrate their Scouting values to the community of Nelspruit and they experienced firsthand how important it is to protect the environment. They experienced with their own hands how valuable simple waste is. Waste is more than things we don’t need or cannot be used anymore. They learnt what can be recycled, how to do it and how they can adapt that in their daily life. When the challenge was over, the groups filled in a questionnaire on the topic of recycling and environmental protection. The Groups used their funding to purchase crafting materials; such as scissors, glue, paint, wire, wool and other funding was used for catering, transport and programme office work such as printing and telephone expenses.