The Re-Trade Project is a community recycling and upliftment initiative based in Walmer Heights, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
ABOUT US:
The ReTrade Project is a community-based recycling and social empowerment project which seeks to sustainably provide its members and the community with an opportunity to be environmentally responsible while gaining access to food or basic essentials. The ReTrade Project has vision to provide underprivileged communities with an opportunity to be environmentally aware and access basic needs while still maintaining human worth and dignity within each person.
OBJECTIVES:
1 SOCIAL; To assist disadvantaged individuals who need aid in providing for their basic human needs, by supplying a ‘value-for-value’ system though the exchange of recyclable goods for basic essentials such as food, toiletries and clothing.
2 ENVIRONMENTAL; to create awareness regarding the environmental crisis. It strives to do this by educating local communities in eco-sustainability and contributing to the restoration of the environment though public recycling depots.
MISSION & PURPOSE:
ReTrade aims to become part of the solution by…
• Delivering a much needed ‘value for value’ concept rather than perpetuating a ‘hand-out’ mentality;
• Promoting responsibility and work ethic;
• Empowering people in our community to become self-sufficient by providing for themselves thus restoring dignity to them through their ability to choose for themselves and provide for their needs;
• Reaching across cultural and socio-economic boundaries with compassion and goodwill;
• Providing a means of work for those who need it, which potentially can empower people to generate better choices;
While…
• Creating awareness regarding the environmental crisis
• Educating our community in eco-sustainability by teaching people to look at rubbish in a new way
• Making a difference in cleaning up our environment
HOW IT WORKS:
- Families or individuals collect recyclable junk like plastic bottles, tins, card, white paper and mixed paper and then:
- Re-Trade: on Friday mornings, bring recyclables to Fountain Vineyard Church between 9 and 11am for an exchange from our Trade Store
- Volunteers assist 'Traders' with assessing the recyclable materials and then award points for clean and sorted recyclables
- Traders can then use their points to purchase goods in the Trade Store
- The Trade Store is primarily stocked by donations from individuals, large an small businesses, friends of the project and the wider community
- Recyclable materials are collected by Recycle Yourself and all profits attained are used to purchase new stock for the store
