Solar-powered geysers made from recycled plastic to power informal households

Cape Town - The Lulalab Foundation and the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), with support from the City, aims to transform informal households in Atlantis by installing innovative solar geysers to provide residents with access to warm water for sanitation.

Collecting more than750 2l bottles for the campaign, ASEZ and Lululab used these bottles to make solar geysers for 100 households in Pella and Witsands in the Atlantis area, harnessing solar power, encouraging recycling, reducing waste going to landfill and providing temporary job opportunities for locals.

ASEZ Skills, Enterprise and Community Development manager Ursula Wellman said: “The campaign was initially conceptualised as a Covid-19 response to support communities with access to warm water to combat infections.”

Lulalab first rolled out this project in Soweto about a year ago, which made Pella and Witsands communities its second group of beneficiaries of the green technology.

“The outer shell and casing (of each geyser) is made for purpose from recycled plastic, with empty 2l cooldrink bottles inside, which heats the water. This is then attached to a 50l drum mounted on the roof of a house.

“This way the gravity-fed geyser requires no electricity or fancy switches to provide warm water straight from a tap,” said Wellman.

ASEZ Community Integration administrator Charlotte Perrang said: “There is no better way of demonstrating green technology than seeing it in action.”

With the installations in Pella and Witsands set to conclude on December 21, Wellman said they hoped to expand this initiative to all Atlantis regions, but this was dependent on access to funding.

Mayco member for Economic Development, James Vos, and Energy and Climate Change Mayco member Beverley van Reenan attended the launch of the solar geyser installations at the homes of the beneficiaries in Atlantis over the weekend.

“With informality growing in Cape Town and in other urban centres in South Africa, innovation and greater partnerships are required. The City is looking to strengthen its efforts in decreasing energy poverty in low-income households,” said Van Reenen.

Source: https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/solar-powered-geysers-made-from-recycled-plastic-to-power-informal-households-2d03b1fd-79b2-4419-b19d-bd8cc3c8800b