In order to curb unemployment, reduce waste, and promote recycling in the city for the next five years, the City of Windhoek Solid Waste Management Division has launched a pilot project to build and operate Waste Buy-Back Centres in two residential areas in Windhoek.

The facilities are located at the corner of Hans Dietrich Genscher and Bondel streets and Frankfurt Street, opposite Mamadu Kindergarten.

The facilities purchase, sort, and resell different kinds of recyclable materials, such as paper, cans, and plastic.

The Waste Buy-Back Centres will create opportunities for micro, small, and medium enterprises to grow in the recycling industry and provide formal and informal jobs.

Those who will be collectors will be paid per kilogramme of waste according to the type and quantity of recyclable material they sell, and they are paid in line with the pricing structures.

The City of Windhoek's Public Relations Officer, Lydia Amutenya, said that they are engaging retail businesses and supermarkets to sign up for contractual agreements to issue coupons to recyclers.

The coupons will be used to purchase food items.