We Are Africa names Victoria Fall's as winner of its international recycling award

From right to left: This Is Beyond CEO Serge Dive, Africa Albida Tourism group sales and brand manager Bryony Acutt and We Are Africa managing director Ryan Wallace.

The Engage Africa award recognises community collaboration to build a more united Africa.

Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) chief executive Ross Kennedy said: "Recognition of projects such as Victoria Falls Recycling by industry peers and independent judges always enhances the accolade and pride for the dedicated people involved.

"Conservationist Charlene Hewat, the driving force behind the project, together with AAT group operations manager Andy Conn and the Victoria Falls Recycling team, deserve huge praise for their unrelenting efforts."

"The next stage is to build a new recycling centre on land provided by Victoria Falls Municipality, where a retail outlet will also be set up, to sell products created from recycled waste. We are immensely proud to be involved in the founding, funding and operation of Victoria Falls Recycling," he said.

Harvest, collect recyclables

Since Victoria Falls Recycling was launched in March last year by AAT in partnership with Greenline Africa, Victoria Falls Municipality and PetrecoZim, it has collected and baled more than 24 tonnes of waste - paper, plastics, glass, kaylite, cans and packaging - for recycling.

Hewat, who is the project coordinator, said this waste would otherwise have ended up in the dumpsite, rivers and wilderness areas in and around Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s top tourist destination, and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. "Victoria Falls does not have a proper landfill site at the moment and therefore it is critical that we harvest and collect as much recyclable product as possible before it reaches the dumpsite.

"Collection at source is the focus of the project, and we started off with hotels, lodges and restaurants, and will move to household collection mid-2019," she said.

Victoria Falls Recycling, which is the only recycling centre in the region, employs a team of three young people, and works with locals who collect waste and are paid per kilogram.

This is the third award Victoria Falls Recycling has won since it was launched. It won the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents’ Industry Environment Award in September 2018, and in November 2018 AAT was named Recycling Champion of the Year by the Corporate Social Responsibility Network Zimbabwe.