Klein-Brakrivier supporting “Tags & Tops” since 2019

Klein-Brakrivier (with contributions from neighbouring branches), in collaboration with the Great Brak Conservancy supports the Sweetheart Foundation by collecting “tags & tops” for recycling and manufacturing of specialised wheelchairs. Most recipients are children with specific requirements as they are long-term wheelchair users and require customised wheelchairs, which are very expensive.

The plastic bottle tops that they collect are only from beverage containers – milk, water, fruit juice and cool drinks. Unfortunately, metal tops, pill bottles and other plastic bits are deposited as well, which results in a huge sorting process to get the tops ready for pick-up (other plastic should be recycled through the blue bags project). When the required mass is reached (one wheelchair required 450 kg of tops), these items need to be prepared for collection, and transported to Johannesburg.

To celebrate Global Recycling Day, 18 March 2024, Val Thomson part of the Great Brak Conservancy steering committee and member of the Sweetheart Foundation, organized the pickup of the latest 840kg bottle tops and 34kg bread tags collected for the “Sweethearts”. This is their eighth delivery, an epic task which takes their totals to an amazing 5 455kg tops and 181kg bread tags since their first delivery in 2019. Klein-Brakrivier is proud to be by their side since that first delivery in 2019 and hope to be there for many more years.