South African Business 2017 edition

INTERVIEW and developing

INTERVIEW and developing small businesses by turning waste into worth. From 1 December 2013 to the end of February 2016, REDISA created over 3 000 jobs. REDISA is currently collecting tyres from 1 385 dealers, and as the Plan continues in its five-year rollout, more dealers and collection points will be collected nationwide. Driving awareness around the value of circular economies and the opportunities created by the concept remains key to REDISA. It is important for us as a nation to explore the notion of a circular economy, which is an exciting approach that will not only eliminate threats to environmental quality and resources, but will also positively contribute to the growth and development of the economy. The Product Testing Institute is an important enabler of circularity in the tyre industry. The circular economy approach could successfully be used to recover and recycle plastic waste, waste from agriculture, organic chemical processes and mining operations, to name a few. This would generate major socio-economic and environmental benefits, going far beyond what has already been achieved in the waste tyre sphere. How have REDISA's activities and operations improved people's lives? Developing the entrepreneurial spirit is an important economic driver and poverty eradicator for South Africa, and as such the REDISA Plan seeks to support small business owners (both new and existing), entrepreneurs and secondary businesses within the informal sector that will, in turn, create even more job opportunities. REDISA has made significant progress towards building a viable and sustainable circular economy focusing on tyre recycling, and what we are most proud of is the impact the initiative has made to the many people both employed by REDISA, and supported in terms of secondary industry. In a little under three years REDISA has made remarkable progress in South Africa in creating jobs "THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY APPROACH COULD SUCCESSFULLY BE USED TO RECOVER AND RECYCLE PLASTIC WASTE, WASTE FROM AGRICULTURE, ORGANIC CHEMICAL PROCESSES AND MINING OPERATIONS." In addition, over 200 SMME business operations are working with REDISA as per the Plan and rollout. Furthermore, REDISA has put 80% of revenue collected from the waste management fee back into local communities by creating a market for the handling of waste. How has REDISA contributed to small business development in South Africa, and what opportunities are there for business? REDISA is committed to small business development and job creation that is essential to help combat the escalating unemployment rate in the country. A key challenge (and one that is common for many small businesses and start-ups) is that access to funding has not been addressed adequately. The solution to SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2017 32

INTERVIEW derived from the OTR tyres can be used in asphalt, roofing tiles, rubber bricks and playground matting, to name but a few. this challenge is our approach to entrepreneurship, business development and empowerment. REDISA’s business incubation programme addresses these funding challenges. We support the development of businesses with advisory and administrative support services. Where the business proves to be viable, the ownership is passed to candidates, at market value, who meet with specific performance requirements in terms of compliance, operational management, financial management, and product and market development. Waste Beneficiation is one such example of what is possible through REDISA’s business incubation programme. The business brings a unique solution to downsize and remove large Off the Road Tyres (OTR) from stockpiles, allowing for abatement plans to be developed and implemented at the mines. The company has the capacity to downsize between 50-60 tons of OTR tyres per day with state-of-theart machinery situated to service identified mines. The project addresses the environmental challenge posed by the vast volumes of discarded OTR tyres. In addition, Waste Beneficiation adds to the value chain of the country as the crumbed product How can businesses in the private sector take up opportunities with REDISA? There is a growing demand for more and more waste tyres that can be used for end products made from the rubber, steel and textile derived from processing waste tyres. Crumb rubber is the result of processing automotive and truck scrap tyres in particular. During this process the steel and tyre cord (fluff) is removed, leaving tyre rubber with a granular consistency. This rubber crumb is often used in astro-turf as cushioning, where it is sometimes referred to as astro-dirt, asphalt for tarring the roads, floor mats, carpet padding, vehicle mudguards and adhesives. Due to this growing demand, we see this as an opportunity for new recycling businesses to get involved in the value chain. REDISA welcomes and encourages all compliant small businesses interested in recycling to submit an application to get involved in the REDISA Plan and to assist us to develop the economy of the country. We have always believed that with waste comes opportunity, and that by looking at waste differently from a circular economy perspective we can only grow as an economy. With South Africans generating more than 108-million tons of waste per year and only 10% of this being recycled, there is an opportunity to turn the burden of waste around. CONTACT INFO Tel: 087-35-73873 Email: customersupport@redisa.org.za Website: www.redisa.org.za. 33 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2017