This businessman is turning waste into job opportunities

A young recycling company’s luck turned around in 2016 when by sheer chance it stumbled upon an opportunity.

GreenMovement Energy was first established in 2012 by Zethu Kunene as a recycling firm that gathered rubbish from dustbins in homes and businesses.

These days, the Springs-based company creates the woodie, a high-thermal, low-carbon substitute for conventional coal made from scrap wood, invasive alien tree species, and other organic materials.

Speaking with Vuk’uzenzele, Bonolo Vilane, executive director of sales and logistics for the company, stated that at the time, the company gathered any recyclables it could find.

According to him, the concept for the woodie came about when a stakeholder donated GreenMovement cardboard waste in exchange for sawdust. This inspired creative research and development, which resulted in the production of the product.

After that, the crew started looking into creative uses for the garbage.

“We didn’t have adequate equipment at the time to compress the sawdust and transform it into wood pallets because we were using Zethu’s garden. In order to bind the sawdust and convert it into energy fuel, we had to come up with some creative ideas,” he stated.

The committee then spent some more time to look at possible new prospects. The first prototype was made, but it was abandoned when it was determined to be unsuccessful.

“We had to rethink everything and conduct additional research. We finally arrived at the woodie, as it is currently known,” he remarked.

Although the company began selling their product in 2016, it didn’t start to take off until 2020—during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

That’s when our breakthrough came about. We took it to the township market first. People were unable to reach their usual gasoline sources during this time, he claimed.

“We seized the chance to establish a social media presence by launching numerous social media campaigns and collaborating with several non-governmental organisations that organised food drives.”

Five people are now employed by the company, with the remaining four being brought on as needed.

The company recently participated in the Energy and Water industry Education and Training Authority’s (EWSETA) Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Village at the Africa Energy Indaba, where six small businesses in the green energy industry displayed their products and services.

The Indaba’s SMME Village gave small enterprises entry to the continent’s energy market.

In a statement, the EWSETA acknowledged that SMME capacity building in the energy industry will promote innovation, jobs, technology transfer, and environmental sustainability in the nation.

Vilane expressed gratitude for GreenMovement’s participation in the SMME Village, seeing it as a chance for the startup to promote itself and network with prominent figures in the field.

Editor’s note: GreenMovement Energy was first established in 2012 by Zethu Kunene as a recycling firm that gathered rubbish from dustbins in homes and businesses. Five people are now employed by the company, with the remaining four being brought on as needed.

Description: A young recycling company’s luck turned around in 2016 when by sheer chance it stumbled upon an opportunity. The concept for the woodie came about when a stakeholder donated GreenMovement cardboard waste in exchange for sawdust. This inspired creative research and development, which resulted in the production of the product.

Editor: Thato Mahlangu

Project manager: Do4SA