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WISP Case Study: Recycling Makes Cents

3 March 2020

WISP Case Study: Recycling Makes Cents

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The Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP), delivered by GreenCape, develops mutually profitable links between companies from all industrial sectors, so that under-utilised resources such as energy and water, and/or materials from one company can be recovered, reprocessed and re-used by others.

In response to price pressures from their clothing and footwear customers, sewing thread manufacturer ACA Threads wanted to generate jobs and financial savings, for customers, for the company, and for their suppliers. As a result, ACA Threads offered to buy back the empty spools from customers and collect them when a new order is delivered, thus generating additional revenue for their clients and reducing their waste disposal costs, as well as minimise pressure on scarce landfill sites.

The empty spools and cones were sent to various organisations for handicapped people ACA Threads pays a set price per unit
to have the cones cleaned and the labels removed, generating revenue for these organisations.

ACA Threads saved more than R460,000 by recovering and reusing units.Their customers have saved more than
R55,000 by landfill diversion.

Read the full case study here.