Water leakage and non-revenue water have become two of the biggest problems facing municipalities around South Africa in recent years. Under the leadership of André Kowalewski, Senior Engineer: Water Services, and in line with their vision of being a “City of Excellence” the Drakenstein Local Municipality in Paarl, Western Cape, began a 20-year master plan to replace old or aging asbestos pipes with HDPE pipes, thereby allowing them to achieve significant successes in reducing water loss throughout the municipal area. Background to the problem Ever-increasing water losses in the Drakenstein Municipality were surpassing demand growth. By 1999, the water losses stood at 34% and were increasing, thereby forcing them to investigate the reasons for the high water losses and find ways to mitigate these on a broader front. The municipality began prioritising projects that included pipe replacements, the replacement of bulk and domestic water meters, pressure management, leak detection and repair, public awareness and upgrading information and management tools. Reaction time to attend to burst pipes was also reduced to less than one hour. These initiatives have brought water losses down to an average of 16% – and 11% at its lowest. The lower losses enabled the municipality to delay the construction of reservoirs and large pipelines for several years. There was also a decrease in the occurrence of burst pipes. However, the reduction in residual pressures in various pressure zones had the biggest water saving effect. Replacing aging pipes with HDPE Pipes The municipality has placed significant emphasis on replacing 14.2 km of old asbestos pipes with new HDPE pipes, at a value of R120 million. “Prior to embarking on the project, we carefully compared steel pipes with HDPE pipes. We were fully convinced that the latter offered us significant more advantages and impressive cost saving benefits. Taking the life cycle of the HDPE pipe as a material into . . .

Boxes. Labels. Books. Your child’s first report card. A tissue for their first heartbreak. All made from paper; a renewable, recyclable material that is an inextricable, often invisible part of our lives. Think about it…from the moment we wake up to when we nod off with a book in hand, paper is there. In a world that strives to go paperless, very often for the wrong environmental reasons, the paper industry firmly believes that paper is making a comeback in some quarters, and that it is here to stay. The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) shares the reasons why paper is good for us, our economy and our environment. 1. It’s versatile Paper is categorised into three principal types – printing and writing, packaging and tissue – and chances are that we use each kind every day. Paper in its most common form – white copy paper – could be the start of something, a blank canvas, a new project or design, your first book. A variety of printing and writing papers help to communicate and inform through news and advertising, the label on the coffee jar, the medicine box insert and the month-end supermarket specials. Paper also educates – from your child’s first reader to their last matric exam. Paper packages and protects. From our eggs, teabags and cereal, milk and juice in cartons, to medicine and cosmetics. And let’s not forget that new computer equipment for the office or your online shopping order. From the bestseller of your favourite author to a night at the movies with popcorn, a drink and a box of chocolates, paper entertains. Facial and toilet tissue, kitchen towel and baby and feminine products help to improve our lives through convenience and hygiene. 2. It’s renewable In South Africa, paper is produced from farmed trees. Some 600 million trees are grown over 762,000 hectares for the very purpose of making pulp and paper. “If it wasn’t for commercially grown trees, our indigenous forests would have been eradicated . . .

Schools around the country stand a chance to once again win big prizes in Plastics|SA’s annual schools competition, entitled “Let’s do it … Let’s Clean-Up South Africa!” According to Douw Steyn, Director: Sustainability at Plastics|SA, the aim of this national competition is to educate and encourage schools, communities, businesses and organisations to play their part in cleaning up their immediate surroundings. “We have been running this national competition for the past 10 years as part of our annual Clean-up and Recycle SA activities. During this time, we have given away prizes to deserving schools for hosting various clean-up activities and being committed recyclers of their waste,” Steyn says. The competition is open to primary and high schools as well as businesses or organisations around the country who are eager to initiate a clean-up and/or recycling activity in their area. By writing a short report about their clean-up and recycling, and sending in the photographs and information of what they had managed to accomplish, they stand a chance to win one of the following exciting prizes: Prizes 1st 2nd 3rd Primary School R5 000 R2 000 R1 000 High School R5 000 R2 000 R1 000 School: Primary & High 6 Seater Picnic Table Garden Bench Plastic Recycle Bin Business/Organisation 6 Seater Picnic Table Garden Bench Plastic Recycle Bin Entries for last year’s competition were received from around South Africa and were judged based on how many participants were involved in their respective projects and whether they managed to involve their community. Kabega Primary in Port Elizabeth was announced as the ultimate winner for proving their mettle as a group of learners committed to sustainability and cleaning up their environment based on the amount of recycling and other environmental and sustainability activities they were involved in. The closing date for this year’s competition is 31 October 2017. Entry forms and competition rules can be . . .

A new molecularly-oriented PVC pipe (PVC-O) - used specifically for pressure applications - has opened up exciting new opportunities for plastic pipe manufacturers around the world and in South Africa. “Designed to be lighter, have better impact resistance and increased tensile strength when compared to standard PVC, PVC-O pipes are for the first time technically competent and commercially viable to compete in the large diameter, high pressure, bulk water, trunk main pipe market that has historically been dominated by steel and ductile iron,” explains Jan Venter, Chief Executive Officer of SAPPMA (the Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association). The first PVC-O pipes entered the market about 40 years ago in the United Kingdom after the shapeless structure of PVC-U was reorganised into a layered structure. This realignment of the PVC molecules is done through a process called biaxial orientation, and greatly enhances the material properties – making it about twice as strong and ten times more impact resistant compared to traditional PVC-U material. “PVC-O pipe offers unbeatable mechanical properties in plastic pipes, such as high impact resistance (almost unbreakable), high stiffness and fatigue resistance, an excellent behaviour with external loads, crack propagation prevention and maximum flexibility. It is also the most eco-friendly pipe system in the world as it requires less energy to produce than conventional PVC-U and other pipe materials, as well as less energy in service than all other pipe types,” Venter says. Thanks to the fact that the wall thickness of PVC-O pipes can be reduced by up to 50% while maintaining the same pressure as that of the traditional PVC pipes, PVC-O has a larger bore offering greater hydraulic capacity. It also offers excellent mechanical characteristics thanks to its fatigue resistance, elasticity and tensile strength. Furthermore, PVC-O pressure pipes have a spigot and socket jointing system that enables . . .