INTRODUCTION
Global warming and the importance to reduce the world’s carbon footprint has become a global challenge that demands major interventions to achieve the ambition of leaving a positive environmental legacy. In line with government’s national waste management strategy which aims to address the out-of-control waste time-bomb facing the country, IWESCO (Pty) Ltd has acknowledged its responsibility to interact and respond to economic, political, social and cultural environmental needs in the communities where they do business.

SPEARHEADING WASTE-WIZE INITIATIVES
IWESCO (Pty) Ltd, since its inception, has recognised that, in order to operate an environmentally ethical company, the core of its operations had to focus on reduction and recycling at source. Their first port of call is with their clients who are legally required to have a waste-control policy that minimises waste and introduces recycling.

Changing South Africa’s image as a third world country with a careless ‘dumping’ mentality is crucial to winning the war against waste. As government battles to address the pressing issues of waste disposal, business needs to lend a hand in initiating innovative littering campaigns and making consumers more environmentally aware.

If recycling waste can provide 12 million jobs in countries like Brazil, China and the US, then South Africa has the opportunity to provide thousands of jobs through a concerted effort to encourage structured entrepreneurship and long-term job creation. IWESCO (Pty) Ltd is one of the first waste-management companies to not only create a viable franchise opportunity that will effectively duplicate its holistic approach to corporate and industrial waste management but to spearhead a social franchise concept that will create entrepreneurs and jobs.