JOBLESS women should not be discouraged by statistics indicating a growing number of them falling victim to unemployment, because there were many opportunities available to them, says a Durban-based clean environment activist.

Belinda Putterill, managing director of Use-It, a non-profit organisation (NPO) has been assisting unemployed township residents, especially women, to make an living out of transforming waste into money and business.

The NPO has helped some young people to start manufacturing businesses using waste.

Putterill’s advice was in reaction to Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke’s recent report indicating the growing rate of unemployment among young people, especially women.

In his report released on Tuesday, Maluleke revealed that between 2014 and 2024, the unemployment rate among the Black African population group, was at 36.9% - higher than the national average and other population groups.

He said black African women continue to be the most vulnerable with an unemployment rate of 39,2% in the first quarter of 2024.

“Women, irrespective of their educational background—whether they have less than a matric certificate, a matric certificate, other tertiary qualifications, or a graduate degree—consistently face higher unemployment rates compared to men,” read Maluleke’s report.

Belinda Putterill, managing director of Use-It, a non-profit organisation, that helps the unemployed to turn waste into cash. SUPPLIED

Putterill reminded women that they were “very tenacious” in nature.

“We always find a solution to a problem, and we have to continue with that spirit,” she said.

Putterill said when times get tough, women should sit back and apply their minds.

“Look around you and see what you have in your immediate area to see what you can use,” she said.

Use-It operates waste bulk bag centres in Hammarsdale, Ntshongweni, Kwandengezi and Clermont, where people who desperately need to make cash could go to sell waste.

The NPO also has training programmes for young people to start manufacturing businesses using waste collected from various townships.

Putterill said the aim was to create a township economy “because there is no business in townships”.

Its activities also contribute to cleaning townships, which were usually littered.

“When you have a beach clean-up and there are all those plastics on the beach, everybody gets up and say ‘waste is a problem’ but we got to ask why there are plastics on the beach.

“It is because they (plastics) are coming down the river when there is a storm. So we need to address where the waste is coming from,” she said.

eThekwini Municipality’s effort to collect waste was not enough because there was still a lot of pollution going into the rivers and plastics ended up in the sea affecting marine life.

Her solution was to support waste collection for recycling purposes.

She said Use-It has established centres in the townships where waste collectors can sell the waste to various recycling companies who would send truck for collection.

“There are already existing waste collectors in townships but the markets are in Pinetown, and the gogos have to travel from Hammarsdale to Pinetown to sell their waste, which is costing them money.

‘So we did the reverse logistics programme where we said you can consolidate your waste in your area and I will send the buyer to you and the buyer is carrying the cost to collect that waste.

“It takes a gogo two weeks to fill the bulk bag with 2litres soft drink bottles, she pays R30 to take a taxi to go and sell, she gets paid R140 by recyclers and she has to pay another R30 to get back home,” she said.

The NPO also operates a training centre in Hammarsdale to equip youth with skills to manufacture construction bricks and sew discarded cloth into useful products. After receiving training from the incubator, the beneficiaries would then move out to open their workshops.

“One of the [training] projects is using waste, which is mostly advertising banners displayed when there are big expos or conferences. When that banner can no longer be used, it comes to waste and the ladies use them to make products such as school bags, shopping bags, make-up bags and all sorts of products.

“There is also a woodwork project that makes educational toys using waste wood,” she said.

She said Use-It would find sponsors to help small businesses grow and sustainable.

She said the beneficiaries of the training projects were mostly women but did not exclude men.

“We do training and skills development programmes to give opportunities for them to learn as we also do business entrepreneurship training, computer skill training, which got nothing to do with waste but got something to do with the business side of things. We don’t want them to start a business while they don’t know how to run it,” she said.

She said there were already three up-and-running small businesses that were born out of the projects.

Use-It was established in 2008, but the incubator site in Hammarsdale was completed in 2018. It suffered a setback because of Covid-19, but it was up and running again.

“At the moment we are busy developing green interlocking construction blocks known as key bricks which are made up of construction debris,” she said.

“If you have an idea, bring it because we love new ideas, we love people to come and say ‘I thought about doing this’.

“If you are a woman, don’t give up if you have an idea and dream. File your idea and somebody is going to help you,” said Putterill.