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From mining impact to environmental solutions

02 January 2024 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Chris Nelson

Dr Maryam Amra Jordaan, co-founded SA Rebuilders.

Only 16% of plastic gets recycled in South Africa, despite technological advancements. While the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulation of 2021 assigns post-consumer recycling responsibility to producers, substantial efforts are needed to develop effective waste management strategies, heighten public awareness, discover practical solutions, and hold plastic-producing companies accountable.

Prioritising environmental sustainability

Dr Maryam Amra Jordaan co-founded SA Rebuilders with her husband, Yasar Amra, in 2016. By combining 3D printing, chemistry, and plastic recycling, they tackle socio-economic issues while prioritising environmental sustainability. As the daughter of a miner from Kimberley, Dr Jordaan is committed to mitigating the negative effects that industries have on the health, environment, and social aspects of local communities. She was honoured with an Alumni Cum Laude Award from the University of the Free State (UFS) for her work in this regard.

Dr Jordaan’s academic journey at the UFS from 2001 to 2013 includes a BSc in Chemistry and Physiology, BSc Honours, MSc, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry. She dedicated five years to lecturing and research on the Qwaqwa Campus and four years at the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). During this time, she authored 19 pharmaceutical and environmental chemistry research papers and won numerous national and international awards. She entered the UFS with dreams of assisting in some way and ended up helping to solve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Remarkable potential for rapid prototyping and supply chain resilience through digitisation exists, but the current energy crisis hampers the full realisation of 3D printing’s potential,” Dr Jordaan explains. Added to this, is the complex endeavour of becoming a 3D engineer. “Expertise in materials science and project management is equally essential. Creativity, quick learning, and meticulous attention to detail are all characteristics necessary to excel as a 3D engineer.”

Seeking out biodegradable product alternatives

Dr Jordaan stresses the need for effective waste management, awareness, practical solutions, and accountability for individuals and plastic-producing companies. Therefore, she promotes reusable and recyclable shopping bags, among others, and instils this behaviour in her children. The Amras actively seek out biodegradable product alternatives, as they are fully aware of the environmental impact of the manufacturing industry.

They incorporated this ideology in the manufacturing process of organic butter by transforming the plastic waste from this process into a 3D filament. This product is currently undergoing SABS testing, after which it will be available to the local market.

News Archive

Pansalb’s Language Rights Monitor Project launched at the UFS

2007-01-25


Attending the launch of the Language Rights Monitoring Project were, from the left: Mr Edward Sambo (acting head of Pansalb), Prof Engela Pretorius (Vice-Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS), Prof Theo du Plessis (Director: Unit for Language Management at the UFS) and Mr Vusi Ntlakana (head of the Free State provincial office of Pansalb).
Pansalb’s Language Rights Monitor Project launched at the UFS The Unit for Language Management at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with the Pan-South African Language Board (Pansalb), today launched the Language Rights Monitor Project on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. In accordance with the Pansalb Act of 1995, Pansalb is responsible for the promotion and protection of language rights in South Africa, and is the chief funder of the project. The Language Rights Monitor Project was initiated in 2002 for a trial period of three years, with the aim of reporting to Pansalb, on an annual basis, on language-rights issues in South Africa, as reflected mainly in the printed media. Since then, three reports have already appeared, covering various aspects relating to language rights, including, inter alia, language-rights complaints, language-rights issues, language litigation, as well as research on language rights in South Africa. Profs Johan Lubbe and Theo du Plessis, as well as Dr Elbie Truter, all associated to the UFS, were responsible for the compilation of the first three reports. During 2006, Pansalb decided to establish the project for an unspecified period of time at the Unit for Language Management at the UFS. It is precisely for this reason that the project is being launched. The South African Language Rights Monitor will henceforth appear annually as a prestige publication of Pansalb, compiled by staff associated with the Unit. However, Pansalb has also decided to further consolidate the project, as a result of the need for a more immediate report, as well as the need to include records drawn from newspapers published in the African languages. It was therefore decided that, as from September 2006, a monthly South African Language Rights Bulletin would also be launched. Such a bulletin would provide an overview, on a monthly basis, of developments in South Africa concerning language rights, and would enable Pansalb to become more actively involved in crisis situations in which mediation is urgently needed. Two monthly bulletins have already appeared, and were favourably received by Pansalb. During the launch of the project, this bulletin was also introduced to the public for the first time. With the official launch of Pansalb’s Language Rights Monitor project in the Free State, emphasis will be placed on the leading role played by this province, and more specifically by the UFS, in the development and implementation of a multilingual policy. In future, more information on the situation regarding language-rights issues in South Africa will be made available from Bloemfontein, for the benefit of South Africa’s language-rights watchdog, Pansalb, but also for the benefit of other institutions involved in language-rights issues. A constructive contribution will thus be rendered to the cultivation of language justice, an important element of the democratisation process in South Africa. Issued by: Prof Theo du Plessis Unit for Language Management, UFS Media release Issued by: Lacea Loader Media Representative Tel: (051) 401-2584 Cell: 083 645 2454 E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za 24 January 2007

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