Waste Plan rolled out its recycling program in parts of the City of Cape Town in late 2007, and since then the initiative has been rolled out to more suburbs.

This has translated into fewer items winding up in our landfill sites and saving other resources along the way. To put things in perspective, since that rollout, some 27000 tons of waste has been recycled, translating to 106 olympic-sized swimming pools, recycling of 8100 tons of glass converts to the same amount of electricity to run 168000 computers for an entire day, recycling of 800 tons of metal cans translate to the same amount of electricity used by 400 000 light bulbs for a day. And with the paper (14000 tons) they collected for recycling, they saved up to 150 000 trees.

Also, they are making use of the “trolley brigade” that people normally try to ignore on dirt collection days, by making them part of the collection process. These collectors then can also earn a bit of cash for the materials they collect and hand in – a win-win situation.They have created 140 direct jobs (on-site sorting of the waste etc) and 120 indirect jobs (informal collectors).

The Consumer Protection Act, no. 68 of 2008 was signed on 24 April 2009.

it aims to:

• • Promote a fair, accessible and sustainable marketplace for consumer products and services;
  • Establish national norms and standards to ensure consumer protection;
  • Make provision for improved standards of consumer information, to prohibit certain unfair marketing and business practices;
  • Promote responsible consumer behaviour;
  • Promote a consistent legislative and enforcement framework, related to consumer transactions and agreements;
  • Establish the National Consumer Commission; and replace, in a new and simplified manner, existing provisions from five acts, including the Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practices) Act of 1988; Trade Practices Act of 1976; Sales and Service Matters Act of 1964; Price Control Act of 1964; and Merchandise Marks Act of 1941 (specifically Sections 2-13, and 16-17).

To read the full consumer protection act, please download the PDF file here.

The theme for the 2011 Festival is Treasure, which encapsulates the vibrant and cosmopolitan diversity of Cape Town. The Festival invites everyone to appreciate, take ownership of and celebrate the cultural riches that are often overlooked, neglected or discarded.

This year, Infecting the City has collaborated with Waste Plan, a waste-management company that collects and processes waste from the industrial and commercial sectors, as well as residential homes.  Waste Plan will provide sorted waste to the Festival and eight talented artists will bring to light the issues of excessive waste and the importance of recycling, through the creation of a provocative installation entitled ‘Slices of Life’.

Shocking statistics show that residents, visitors and businesses in Cape Town generate almost 2kg of rubbish per person a day, translating to 2.3 millions tons per year in 2002/2003. Furthermore our waste is increasing at 7% per year, at a faster rate than population growth at 1.7%.

Much of this rubbish is recyclable. If it is recycled, it substantially reduces the amount of waste in the landfills, thereby saving energy, water and money that would be consumed in the production of goods from raw materials, and stops poisons leaching from the waste into our water and seas.

Visit the Festival Hub, the newly refurbished Forecourt of the Cape Town Station, each day of the Festival to see how a team of artists deals with these critical issues. With the help of one of Cape Town’s main recycling companies, Waste Plan, one week’s rubbish from 200 Cape households would have been gathered and sorted into different types of recyclable material: glass, plastic, paper and tin cans. This garbage was collected from 40 houses in five different areas: Camps Bay/Clifton, Pinelands, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and the Central Business District (CBD).

Brett Bailey, Curator for Infecting the City said: “This installation will take place over the course of the Festival. On the first day, 20 piles or ‘Slices of Life’ will be displayed on the Festival Hub: an intriguing insight into our lifestyles. You can wander around studying and comparing what various communities consume, and how much valuable matter they throw out.

“Then, throughout the Festival week the artists who’re committed to making us aware of this destructive behaviour will transform this material into artworks. Come and watch their progress every day as they build their monuments of Wasted Treasure.”

Additional treasures on the Festival programme include a martial art based on the knife-fighting techniques of the Cape Flats, hip-hop ‘B-Boying duels’, and the traditional riel dances of Khoisan farm workers.

Infecting the City is a project of the Africa Centre (www.africacentre.net). Everything on the festival programme is free and accessible to everybody.

See: http://www.youtube.com/user/InfectingtheCity

Discover hidden treasure, enter our TREASURE competition. Visit www.infectingthecity.com/win for details.

Media release by MANGO-OMC on behalf of: The Africa Centre

For media queries contact: Stefanie Elliott

Cell: 083 760 4110

Tel: 021 461 9244

Email: Stefanie@mango-omc.com

NOTES FOR THE EDITOR:

ABOUT THE AFRICA CENTRE

The Africa Centre’s purpose is to provide a platform for exploring contemporary Pan-African artistic practice as a catalyst for social change.

In addition to Infecting the City, the Africa Centre conducts other five  projects: Badilisha Poetry X-Change, an internet based poetry radio station; the Pan-African Space Station, a 30 day music intervention and online radio station; Spier Contemporary, the largest visual and performing arts biennale in South Africa; Talking Heads, a live and virtual experience of Africa’s thought leaders; Space for Pan-African Research, Creation and Knowledge, a Pan-African multi-disciplinary series of artist residencies, workshops, exhibitions, publications and performances. For more information – www.africacentre.net

http://www.youtube.com/TheAfricaCentre#p/a/u/0/XGw2ivvjWxM

ABOUT SPIER’S INVOLVEMENT

As the principal sponsor of Infecting The City, Spier believes that artistic and cultural expression plays a transformative role in society. Since 1996, Spier’s principal community social investment has been in the visual and performing arts. Spier’s commitment to the arts seeks to acknowledge Africa’s artistic heritage, protect its legacy and contribute to shaping its future.

For more information – www.spier.co.za

WHAT IS PUBLIC ART

According to the Wikipedia site, “the term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. The term is especially significant within the art world, amongst curators, commissioning bodies and practitioners of public art, to whom it signifies a particular working practice, often with implications of site specificity, community involvement and collaboration. The term is sometimes also applied to include any art that is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings.”

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