Key points:
- United Methodist woman opens buyback center to clean up the environment and empower members of her South African community.
- At recycling buyback centers, individuals sell used or recyclable materials, contributing to waste reduction and environmental conservation.
- Employees of Big Start Recycling and Buy Centre have shared personal stories of transformation, highlighting how the initiative provided them with a sense of purpose and hope for the future.
A United Methodist woman is combining her passion for recycling with her faith to empower youth and women in her community.
Through a recycling buyback initiative, Thozeka Letuka provides opportunities to clean up the environment and provide income and meaningful employment to members of her local community in Durban. Her company, Big Start Recycling and Buy Centre, helps transform discarded items into valuable resources.
“I saw a huge gap on illegal dumping in my area,” Letuka said. “I approached local authorities and asked for a piece of land to establish an exchange center for recycling.”
Recycling buyback centers are facilities or locations where individuals can return used or recyclable materials in exchange for payment, contributing to waste reduction and environmental conservation.
“Sorting waste can benefit everyone,” she said. “Durban Solid Waste spends so much money transporting waste to landfill sites.”
Thanks to Letuka, people are learning how to sort their waste from home and take it to the recycling center.
“With so much unemployment, residents can actually earn an income from waste. We want to encourage all communities to recycle,” Letuka said in a 2022 article spotlighting her work in the local Highway Mail.
Prevalent in South African communities, the centers play a crucial role by encouraging the collection and recovery of materials that can be reused, repurposed or recycled. Materials collected include beverage containers, plastic, electronics and scrap metal.
Letuka’s husband, the Rev. Thabiso Letuka, is the South Africa Annual Conference lay servants director, as well as the Big Start managing director and business partner.
“I was incredibly passionate about my wife's idea,” he said, “but lacked time to be hands-on because of my pastoral work. It was very challenging balancing the two when I was conducting my pastoral work on a full-time appointment.”
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The COVID-19 pandemic, however, found him in “a state of perplexity and doubt of what tomorrow shall bring,” he said. No longer working full time in church ministry, he now manages Big Start.
Big Start Recycling and Buy Centre also offers consulting services, skills development, quality management and specialized training for cooperatives and waste management.
“We are educating most institutions, including universities, churches, (college) students and graduates,” he explained.
The center also has contributed to positive changes in the community, steering unemployed youth away from drug abuse and crime. Employees of Big Start have shared personal stories of transformation, highlighting how the initiative provided them with a sense of purpose and hope for the future.
“My mother used to collect and sell waste to Big Start,” said Bheki Kotsoana, now a Big Start employee. “I was unemployed and like other youth in our township, I used to resort to consuming alcohol and smoking. However, after seeing how well my mother was doing in her job, I took her advice to seek a job where she was working. I have now been promoted to data capture, and I have hope for my future.”
Nomnikelo Satshi is another Big Start employee.
“Mama Thozeka and her team visited our church,” Satshi said. “The United Methodist gave us talks on environmental issues. I became very interested and immediately started cleaning our rivers and land.
“Every day, I collect about 80 bags, and I am making money. My life has changed, and I can now feed my family.”
Thozeka Letuka has received several local awards for her environmental work.
Despite setbacks, including the high cost of hiring trucks for waste collection, Letuka remains committed to her vision of creating a waste-free community and promoting sustainable employment through recycling initiatives.
Makunike is the director of communications for the South Africa Conference of The United Methodist Church.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.
