Khayelitsha Bin Clean Project
Social enterprise Bin cleaners bring Hollywood to Khayelitsha, South Africa.
As an events marketing student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), 21-year-old Buhle Sithela started his bin cleaning business as part of a practical assignment. It soon blossomed into a full-time community service.
“I wanted to do something that would benefit the community, so I set up this event where people in my (area) could bring their bins and me and my friends would wash them for a small fee,” Sithela told Amaphiko social enterprise website.
The Khayelitsha Bin Clean Project is based in Harare, Khayelitsha. Every Friday, Sithela and his friends clean more than 30 bins, charging R50 per bin. “Initially,” says Sithela, “we didn’t have that many bins. We started with five bins, but things picked up so quickly.”