Have you ever thought of an environment free of waste, a smoke-free atmosphere or waste creating employment for people?

This could soon be a reality if this young ambitious student has her way.

A promising young Univen scientist has come up with an answer to air pollution and rampant littering that has left towns and villages look like dumping sites. Livhuwani Mudau of Itsani village outside Thohoyandou started a recycling project that will see many previously unemployed people in the district gaining meaningful employment whilst at the same time also cleaning the atmosphere, making it smoke-free and a better place to live in.

To show how serious she is, she has already invested more than R3 000 of her own money to see to it that the project works.

When the project started in May, many unemployed people thought their woes had finally come to an end, but as things turned out, there was no money generated as the costs of transporting their collected waste consumed nearly all their money. Many decided to quit and today the project is only left with four full-time members who are volunteers who do not have a steady income.

“We have ideas and dreams, but these will not be realized if we do not get support from our government. Municipalities should come together and join hands with the local university, pool funds and purchase machines which can do the recycling here at home, “she said.

The final year BSc student at Univen says it would be money well spent as all surrounding communities could use the plant to recycle the waste that they would collect from all over Vhembe, thus creating employment for themselves and easing the burden that municipalities have of generating employment.

“We can do things on our own, rather than taking waste to far-away plants in Joburg, where all the money is taken by the transporter. These people are not making any money, but they are determined to make this area clean and free from waste. They need to be supported in this endeavor,” she said.

Mudau said she and her fellow students had come to realize that most of the waste that is thrown away in villages and towns is reusable. “The idea when we started was that we be part of waste management by collecting waste that could be recycled, creating jobs and stopping people from burning waste that will pollute the atmosphere,“ she said.

She said this would form sustainable employment in Vhembe and could also be extended to other districts in the province if supported by municipalities in the form of machines that could do all the work locally.

“We have challenges like not having protective clothing for our volunteers who are exposed to diseases and we also need reliable and cheap transport to take our stock to companies. We need help in getting a company that can pay us a reasonable amount for our waste. Then the project will move, even if it is at a slower rate, until we get our own machinery, “she said.

Mudau also invests in charity. She and her friends have started a programme whereby they go out looking for donations and give to the poor. One of the project members who has children at school recently became the first beneficiary who received items of clothing.

“We feel the members of the project need to be supported. We are not making any money from the project and we are making a call on caring South Africans to give from their hearts in the spirit of Christmas and make these less fortunate people smile during the festive season, “she said.

Those willing to make a change in the lives of the less fortunate could do so by phoning her at 071 075 6539