CARE CENTRE
MISSIONVALE
the
The Recycling Initiative
In 1989, Sister Ethel started a recycling initiative for the Missionvale community. She explained that at this time, the area was immensely polluted with tins and glass, and that children often found themselves injured. They would get cut by the tins and their wounds became septic as they often did not have any shoes to wear.
Sister Ethel needed money to pay for the soup and bread that she handed out to the community on a daily basis. As a means of cleaning up the area, preventing children from getting hurt, and funding this initiative, the project began and still continues to this day.
People from Missionvale and other surrounding townships come to the Centre to receive half a loaf of bread and one cup of powdered soup every day. However, in order to receive the bread and soup, they are first required to bring some form of recyclable material.
In most cases, they bring old glass bottles and tin cans. Once they have thrown the tin can or glass bottle into the bin they then receive a blue chip. By showing that they have this blue chip they are then permitted to receive the bread and powdered soup.
Sister Ethel acknowledged that the process encouraged a greater sense of dignity amongst the people. The tin acts as a form of money through which community members in due course are able to pay for their own bread and soup.
