Charity collection point launches at Wits University

SAMSA WITS collab with local NPO to help the disabled.

 The South African Medical Students Association (SAMSA): Wits local chapter encourages wits students to collect bottle tops and bread tags to assist the Sweetheart Foundation’s mission to gift wheelchairs to the needy.

“More often when organizations speak about donations people think of ‘monetary funds,’ in areas like student communities, you barely find citizens who earn a living.” said Kalista January, the president of SAMSA Wits. As part of a community outreach activity, this initiative caters to a wide range of people by motivating them to save and collect two daily used plastic materials with a high recyclable value, such as bottle caps and bread tags.  

A wits student dropping her stash on the collection point at the Wits Medical School - Photo: Salim Nkosi

The reward is that you are not only helping someone who needs a wheelchair but also contributing to a nature-friendly environment and supporting the circular economy. Kalista January, the society president said, “The reason we decided to take part in assisting the Sweetheart Foundation is that we were looking for a program that caters to students without requesting too much from them,’’

On the 8th of April, a SAMSA collection box was introduced at the Wits Medical School library, where students and staff members are able to drop off their stashes. According to the Sweetheart Foundation, a standard wheelchair is funded through 1750 kg of bottle tops or 350 kg of bread tags, which is a high number. To give people something to work with, the foundation uses a benchmark of 5 kg or 450 kg, even though it often takes more.  

A significant amount of bread tags and plastic bottles are then sent to local recycling companies, who in return pay the Sweetheart Foundation. 

The rule is that individuals are only required to collect bottle tops with a #2 or #5 resin, which is a recycling number found on the bottle top, the other forms of bottle caps have low density polyethylene (HDPE). The foundation believes in promoting a more earth-friendly environment and that wheelchairs should be recognized as an essential human right.