Turning recyclable materials into art is a growing industry and 40 of Cape Town’s best upcycling entrepreneurs will be displaying their wares in The Company’s Garden as part of the Waste to Art Market from 1 to 16 December 2012.
This summer the City of Cape Town’s solid waste management department will host a market in The Company’s Garden to show how one person’s waste can become another’s art.
The Waste to Art Market will run from 1 to 16 December 2012 from 09h00 until 18h00 daily, will be free, open to the public and a place to stock up on environmentally friendly festive-season shopping.
The market is also intended as an educational experience, creating awareness about waste minimisation. It showcases the important role of the public in assisting the City to reduce the amount of waste that is directed to our landfill sites.
It also showcases economic opportunities for entrepreneurs to either divert waste by reusing and recycling it, or by marketing and selling recycled products.
Entrepreneurs will showcase their unique products created from recycled waste material at the market’s 40 stalls, while food and drink will also be on sale.
Since the initiation of the Waste to Art project in 2011, the City has been visiting various markets to recruit a diverse range of participants, while also conducting product assessments to ensure quality merchandise for customers. As a result, there is a large range of products on offer: old newspapers transformed into baskets, handbags made out of plastic bags, two-litre bottle lamps, old record players that have been converted into bowls, computer part jewellery, toys created from discarded wood and fabric, plants and home-grown organic compost – to name but a few.
In addition, local musicians will keep visitors entertained as they stroll along Government Avenue. The Company’s Garden also features an aviary, rose garden, art gallery, ample lawns, benches and a tearoom.
The City’s solid waste management department provides waste management services to over 900 000 formal residential households, while also ensuring that Cape Town’s approximately 2 400km² extent is kept clean and tidy. One of the department’s key strategies is to turn the traditional waste management approach around by promoting waste minimisation, while reducing waste’s socioeconomic and environmental impact.
Photo: Jacques Marais Media