From Journo to Circular Economy Advocate

When I received a call from Edith Leeuta the CEO of Fibre Circle informing me that I was successful in my application to be the Content Development Officer for the scheme, I was both excited and anxious. 

Excited by the direction my career is taking and the meaningful contribution I believe I will make to the team and the Fibre Circle member organizations’ and anxious about meeting the expectations of the job.

Edith expressed the need for the stories of the environmental champions that exist in all corners of our nation and the work they do to be told.

She believes there are pockets of excellence in the collections and recycling ecosystem that have not been documented and the people who do this work remain largely unknown and their stories untold.

She further stated that to effect the social change required for citizens to be more conscious of their footprint on the environment and play their part in programmes such as separation at sources and keeping South Africa clean, we need to understand what motivates some to act and what deters other from playing a more active role.

I understand the brief to be to create content that not only showcases the people, communities and organisations that have taken it upon themselves to be environmental change agents and are making a positive impact in their communities but also to create content that will draw from lessons learnt from the lived experiences of these environmental champions that will inspire others to take a more active role in reducing waste to landfill and keeping their communities and South Africa clean.

Coming from a print media background having worked as a Reporter for some of our country’s leading media outlets.

I have investigated and broke stories that range from crime to environmental issues and I am acutely aware of the waste challenges faced by many of our communities such as illegal dumping and irregular waste collection services.

I noted that the environmental champions Edith refers to do not hog the daily headlines, but the work they do is important and deserves to be published, broadcast and form part of the discourse when we discuss where our nation is in relation to sustainably managing its waste.

Applying the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation to our everyday life and what I can do in my home, family and community to promote the circular economy sounds easier said than done because for many of us, we throw our waste away and it is out of sight, out of mind but is it really considering the state of some of our landfills?

Using the might of the pen I aim to bring content that not only makes recycling a way of life for our audiences but educates and informs them on how we each have the power to be the change we would like to see in our communities and country and hopefully contribute to realising the Fibre Circle vision of zero paper and paper packaging waste to landfill. It can be done!

My name is Liam Ngobeni, the newly appointed Content Development Officer at Fibre Circle and I invite you to share your stories with me on how you and your community are actively involved in collecting and recycling waste.

You can contact Liam at liam.ngobeni@fibrecircle.co.za