The hubs are the result of careful planning, discussions with key role players and efforts to get the necessary funding approved, explains the Polystyrene Association of South Africa’s CEO, Adri Spangenberg.
Earlier this year, the association appointed Caban Investments to act as the corporate advisor for these projects. The company developed a detailed business plan and strategy, conducted market analysis and developed a sales strategy. Caban was also responsible for raising capital for the first containers and assisted in identifying the local entrepreneurs who will be driving these projects.
‘The communities of Atlantis and Paarl will benefit from these polystyrene recycling hubs through jobs for residents who will need to collect polystyrene from their town as well as from surrounding areas, and through being to source cheaper and easier to build with materials,’ Adri states.
The collected polystyrene can be of any colour or grade, clean or slightly contaminated, as it gets chopped up and mixed with a special mixture of cement and other ingredients to form lightweight concrete that is waterproof, fire-resistant, offers insulation against heat and cold.
