A better community, one bench at a time
The project was started when it was realised that there is a lack of public seating in Gauteng.
Given the lack of public seating available in South Africa, ADVA Scouts and the 3rd Krugersdorp Rangers from the Girl Guides South Africa decided to partner in order to build an Eco-bench made with Eco-bricks at the Girl Guides South Africa National Support Centre in Randburg.
Alison Griffiths, who is part of this project, led the ADVA Scouts and the Rangers on a Saturday morning. The project was started when Alison realised that there is a lack of public seating in Gauteng.
“The team used 280 Eco-bricks, [a two-litre plastic bottle that is stuffed with non-recyclable plastic waste],” Alison said. “We collect about 1 000 Eco-bricks per month. We started doing this because it was a way for the Scouts to do free community service, and we were the only people in Johannesburg doing it.”
The 3rd Krugersdorp Rangers heard about the initiative and wanted to join in as part of their community service. They were very excited and could not wait to see the end result. Kayla, one of the Rangers said, “This is like a service we do, it’s going to count towards our service hours and maybe we will get a badge. The other group also built an Eco-bench, so we are excited to do it as well”.
The process starts with stuffing the bottles with non-recyclable plastic waste, then picking the right place to situate the benches. The Scouts had built two more benches before coming to assist the Rangers.
According to Alison, they have already built three Eco-benches for the month of July. Alison’s vision for this project is to place these benches at the taxi ranks.
The Rangers have acquired more skills and knowledge pertaining to recycling, and have learned that there are more ways that they can save the planet.
For additional information, or if you would like an Eco-bench near you, please contact Alison Griffiths on 074 236 3087 or visit their Facebook page – ADVA Youth Skills Development.
