At the beginning of 2021, The Dixon Foundation was extremely happy to support WasteAid with an unrestricted grant to support its operations during an incredibly challenging time of global turbulence. 

The grant has contributed to the delivery of WasteAid’s ongoing projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the development of future projects through engagement with key stakeholders and communities to identify the most pressing needs. In Cameroon, where WasteAid and partners are aiming to prevent a minimum of 16 tonnes of marine plastic pollution, it has supported the training of 164 people in waste collection, recycling to:

– Improve waste collection and management in Village, a riverside community in the coastal city of Douala; and

– Reduce the amount of single-use plastic dumped in or near the Wouri River and thereby preventing plastic leakage into the Atlantic Ocean.

The grant has also enabled WasteAid to continue to raise the profile of waste management as a tool for sustainable development through its external communications, and on the role of waste management on the climate as part of a COP26 strategy.

In 2023 we were proud to have been able to partner with WasteAid again on their E-Repair Curriculum project.  This programme facilitates and supports e-waste repair and reuse models, by investing in repair micro-businesses within Diepsloot, a densely populated township in Gauteng.

The training programme will primarily focus on electrical repair related to small domestic appliances which includes larger white goods.  This interception of e-waste keeps products and materials in use, and is part of a circular approach that is paving the way for a more sustainable future.  The e-waste training programme curriculum is designed to then be replicable and scalable across WasteAid’s countries.