CITY of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink and the Norwegian government officials launched the Reverse Vending Machines at Tshwane House on Wednesday, 25 October.
The Norwegian government was led by its State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andreas Kravik.
According to Brink, the partnership with the Norwegian government will help address waste collection challenges.
"This is important as Tshwane is currently implementing its waste collection catch-up plans," he said.
The mayor further said the problem with waste in Mzansi is that we are still using a very old system of putting rubbish into landfills while the rest of the world is recycling and using that as a form of wealth.
ALSO READ| Noxolo's Sassa grant 'manna from heaven'
"Waste has a value which in this country we are not using optimally. In Europe and America, there's one of these vending machines in every supermarket. You put your plastic bottle, can or waste in this machine and get the voucher with a monetary worth that one can use to buy groceries and other necessities," said Brink.
He said the partnership is the beginning, and the City of Tshwane doesn't have money to put one of these machines in each supermarket, but it's an idea that, if it's launched properly, could be scaled in different places.
The mayor said this donation is between Imagined Earth company from South Africa and Norwegian company Tomra.
Kravik said it's important in the partnership, which is creating products which are important for people and help clean up the streets.
Tshwane MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management, Ziyanda Zwane, said: "This is one of the innovations we need to embark on to make sure we manage our waste."
