Developing an AHP waste collection model for lower-income townships

support the GreenEdge research team to identify consumer-relevant collection systems which can be further tested and developed in partnerships across the value chain.”

The study site selected was Samora Machel, a township near Philippi in Cape Town, with high unemployment and crime rates. Here, many families are tenants or ‘backyarders’ on a single property.

Many caregivers find baby care easier and healthier with disposable nappies, particularly for mothers living in conditions without reliable water provision.

AHP waste material is not generally considered an environmental or health hazard if it is part of regular, well-managed municipal refuse collection. This is not always available in lowerincome township areas. In such instances, AHP waste can end up on street verges and informal dump sites, and is a danger to health for the community, especially children, and contributes to the problem of environmental plastic pollution.

These concerns, compounded with increasingly limited landfill space, prompted the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to commission a 2021 study1 on the feasibility of diverting and repurposing AHP waste into a fuel source. One of the success criteria identified in the report was the establishment of costeffective programmes for separation at source and collection of AHP waste.

As these concerns rise in priority, various research studies have been initiated to identify solutions. Our research team conducted an initial six-month participatory research study in 2022, sponsored by Kimberly-Clark, aimed at finding an appropriate at-source collection system design to test in a pilot implementation programme in 2023.

Steven Hayes, GM: South Africa & Southern Africa, Kimberly-Clark, shared, “Kimberly-Clark is concerned about any potential impact our essential products may have on communities and the environment. Living our purpose of Better Care for a Better World, we are proud to

The property owner is allowed one free bin from the municipality for weekly refuse collection. This is insufficient for both the owner’s family and the backyarders. So, bins overflow, and excess rubbish, including AHP waste, is left on street corners and verges, to be cleaned up after some time by municipal contractors.

Key research questions explored in the Samora Machel study included:

• Which community engagement and behaviour change approaches would optimise participation?

• What at-source collection infrastructure and logistics would meet the needs of the community?

• How to track participation and material flow for data gathering and reporting?

• How to integrate with existing municipal collection and disposal facilities?

• How can research learnings be replicated in other contexts to promote scale?

• Can ongoing sustainability be maintained by stakeholder partnerships in government, business and industry?

A team of researchers and specialists was drawn up, working with a local non-profit organisation trusted by the community. The project was first introduced to the local councillor and community leaders. This mobilised support and opened access for researchers to the community.

Fieldwork interviews with over 400 mothers were conducted, followed by focus groups exploring attitudes and practices around diaper purchase, usage and disposal as well as municipal waste services in general.

Co-creating the AHP collection model

A co-design workshop drew in the wider community including mothers to come up with ideas for a collection model. Due to concerns about safety in public spaces, most mothers said they would prefer collections from their homes. Another popular suggestion was the provision of free bins to hold used diapers in homes until collection.

The township’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) daycare centres also came forward to participate. These centres generate high volumes of diaper waste and welcomed support for responsible disposal.

With this valuable input from the community, the team developed an AHP collection model designed for the context and proposed for testing in the pilot: a local workforce will operate street carts to collect AHP waste material from households and ECD centres and take it to a centralised depot.

Here, a digital tracking platform will gather data and metrics for reporting. The AHP waste is then to be transported to the nearest landfill for responsible disposal.

Separate collection, transport and disposal of accumulated nonhazardous AHP waste is a new direction for role players. Ongoing engagements for guidance from municipal and provincial officials are helping pave the way.

Community outreach initiatives, social media and incentives will be used to encourage mothers to register and participate in the startup phase of the pilot. Partnerships with the local health clinic and library will also provide additional support in the initial sign-up stage. The pilot program is targeted to be completed by the end of 2023.

First steps towards circularity

While this pilot will collect AHPs for disposal in landfill, the longer-term objective is to divert AHP waste from landfill to more circular treatment and reprocessing

Project Partners

The research is being funded by the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Professor Rinie Schenck, DSI/NRF/CSIR Chair of Waste and Society, based at the University of the Western Cape is principal researcher. Hugh Tyrrell, director of GreenEdge Communication is providing overall project management, communication and behaviour change services. Brenda Skelenge is managing community engagement and collection logistics together with community non-profit Ubuntu-Bethu. Kudoti is providing the digital platform for data tracking and reporting.

systems for downstream use. To advance the development of these technologies, which often require large volumes of waste to evaluate, research has to be focused now on efficient at-source collection systems.

This will provide estimates of regular volumes of material that could be delivered to treatment plants, on whose availability the economic feasibility depends.

National support for pilots

The national importance of dealing with AHP waste is increasing. The DFFE has put out a tender to develop a strategy which states: ”… pilot projects should help to lay a foundation for the drafting of the strategy… to identify potential policy instruments and action plans that could help the country to address AHP waste effectively.”(2)

Industry-funded pilots such as the one at Samora Machel will be contributing to a process where all parties – government , business and civil society - collaborate in finding evidencebased end-use solutions to managing AHP waste material.

*Director of GreenEdge Communication

References:

1. “Detailed Feasibility Study and Business Case/s for the Establishment of Refuse Derived Fuel Plants to Address Absorbent Hygiene Products and other Residual Materials” - Linden Corporation, for Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment, 31 March 2021.

2. “Appointment of a service provider to develop a strategy relating to the design and disposal of absorbent hygienic products (AHP) waste, such as baby, adult diapers and feminine care products in South Africa, for a twelve (12) month period” – Tender document, Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment, September 2022.