CAPITAL: The Voice of Business Issue 2, 2016 | Page 37

August 2016 , the law now prohibits the disposal of fluorescent tubes , CFLs and other mercury-bearing light bulbs into any landfill in SA . Given that South Africa had no lightbulb recycler , Naidoo saw a business opportunity and suggested to his son that he become South Africa ’ s first light-bulb recycler .
“ When my father first approached me with the idea , I was not convinced ,” says his son , Pravashen Naidoo , today the CEO of EWaste Africa . Pravashen is an electromechanical engineer and was working as a plant manager for Unilever when his father suggested he change careers . “ But as I looked more closely at it , I began to see the light .” They estimated that tens of millions of CFLs are circulated in South Africa every year , and noted that 60 million lamps containing mercury had already been rolled out by Eskom alone since 2004 . These all would need to be responsibly recycled . A six-month feasibility study and a trip to the United Kingdom to evaluate options for safe separation of mercury from CFLs and all other mercury-bearing light bulbs followed . Once they decided to go ahead , it took a further 18 months to get the relevant licencing required . In the meantime , the weakening rand / euro rate pushed the price of the new plant up by 40 % while they waited , says Pravashen , “ but we had decided we would invest in the latest technology , which won the Queen ’ s Award for Innovation in the UK , with a view to having capacity for growth ”. They were eventually awarded their High Hazardous waste license for recycling of
light bulbs in July 2014 , and their recycling plant in Pietermaritzburg was officially opened as Africa ’ s first commercially active , environmentally ethical light-bulb recycling facility by Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs Barbara Thomson on October 24 , 2014 . Two years later , and they now have fully operational recycling plants in Pietermaritzburg and in Gauteng , and have grown to 12 permanent staff members . EWaste Africa has won recognition from a number of entities . The company won the Nedbank / PCB Spirit of Entrepreneurship award in 2016 and was awarded second place in the SAB Kickstart Boost Competition in the same year , along with a R400 000 grant . Most recently , the company won the Young Entrepreneur category at the 2016 SA Premier Business Awards . EWaste counts big corporates as customers and Pravashen lists Woolworths and Pick ‘ n Pay as having been crucial to EWaste ’ s success . “ Woolies ’ support has been phenomenal ,” says Pravashen . “ We couldn ’ t be more thankful for the support of Justin Smith and the Woolworths team . Pick ‘ n Pay ’ s General Manager for Sustainability , Andre Nel was also at our launch , as the company has been looking for a solution to the recycling of CFLs for years .” It ’ s not an easy business to be in though , he points out . “ We were audited 30 times in the first year !” he reveals . The HH certification is a big benefit to companies though , Pravashen points out . “ This demanding licence ensures that companies are assured of ISO 14000 compliance for disposal of their light bulbs if they use us ,” he explains . “ We invite any company that wants to legally recycle their light bulbs in a sustainable and environmentally ethical way to contact us .”
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