In addition, when looking at what has happened with electricity costs over the past 5 years, an alarming upward trend is visible:

Since 2019, electricity has therefore effectively gone up with well over 50%. Even though load shedding seems to be under control for the moment, the upward trend of energy costs is not expected to change, since substantial investment will be required to modernise and upgrade South Africa’s generation and distribution capacity.

While self-sustainability is out of reach for now due to limited roof space at Arnhem, by investing in a photovoltaic installation, we can at least reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the City each month, and even sell the surplus back.

In short – this would mean that Arnhem has a solar system installed which is connected to the grid and generates energy – some of it is used on site, and the surplus is sold back to the City. There will be no batteries (as this is not a sustainable long-term solution) – only solar panels and inverters, which will be installed on common property. The Body Corporate would purchase the system outright and there would be no long-term commitments with service providers who make money from us.

Although this will not directly reduce the electricity costs on your levy account each month, it means that some the money that OSRO recovers from owners and pays to the City each month will instead go back to the Body Corporate. This money can then be spent on maintaining the building or saving for future exterior refurbishment projects, which keeps levies down.

The Trustees have therefore investigated various options, service providers and types of technologies. We do not believe it is necessary to burden members with all the technical details, but the Trustees welcome questions and member involvement in the project.

The proposed installation for the 2024/2025 financial year is summarised as follows:

The rate at which the system generates revenue will depend on how much electricity is consumed, versus how much of the excess is sold back to the City. Typically, the system will generate the most energy during the day (when the demand from Arnhem’s residents is expected to be low) – meaning that we may consume as low as 30%, and sell as much as 70% of the energy generated back to the City. Notably, the rate at which the City buys back electricity is much lower than when we buy it.

However, it is estimated that the system will generate an income of between R50 000 and R70 000 per year – meaning that it will therefore pay for itself after between 5 and 6 years (but possibly much sooner, depending on how rapidly the cost of electricity increases and how much (or preferably little) is consumed by Arnhem’s residents).

This is equal to an excellent internal rate of return of between 16% and 22%, which you can see in the spreadsheet calculations enclosed to this proposal.  There will be no need for a special levy as the project can be completed using existing reserves.

We trust that this proposal will be met favourably at the AGM, considering the substantial financial benefits it will provide, especially in the long term.

Yours faithfully,

The Trustees of the Arnhem Body Corporate

This how it works:

Separate, in your kitchen, food waste from regular trash.

Here’s a guide on what is and is not compostable:

• A six-button remote, with replacement remotes available for R380 from Trustees
• Accentronix cell application: use a smartphone to open each gate
• Cell-to-gate: place a phone call to open a gate

ACCENTRONIX KEYLESS ACCESS

The application can be downloaded:

• For iOS: https://apps.apple.com/za/app/accentronixapp/id1389071207
• For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.co.accentronix.messenger2&gl=ZA

If you would like to use the keyless systems, please fill out this document and email it to chairperson@arnhem.co.za.

In doing so, you will need to consent to Arnhem’s Privacy Policy, which is available here.

CELL TO GATE SYSTEM: 

To place a call, your phone will need to be loaded with airtime or minutes, but will not incur charges.

• Millvale Vehicle Gate: 071 172 8180
• Loxton Vehicle Gate: 066 196 8604
• Front Pedestrian Gate: 081 886 5259
• Foyer Sliding Glass Door: 081 861 7486
• Foyer Door: 071 330 8590
• Staircase: 071 614 7310

These numbers will only work for registered users.

The Trustees want to thank all residents for their participation in sorting their waste and also for spreading the word and creating more awareness. Although the efforts of a single block of flats in Milnerton in the broad scale of garbage generated countrywide might seem to be negligible, it is nevertheless a worthwhile contribution.

In 2023 we want to take recycling one step further by streamlining the whole process. We have decided to delegate the collection and distribution of recyclable material to the same hands that are tasked with sorting and tidying up on the ground:

Morné and Christopher work as a team. While Christopher deals with all misplaced items, sorts the material and prepares it for removal, Morné is responsible for the delivery to the recycling collection points. It goes without saying that this valuable work is not always pleasant and we as residents should do our utmost to support both of them and make their work easier.

Up to now the biggest challenge is general household and kitchen waste, thoughtlessly dumped in the GREEN ROOM! Not placing your waste into the correct bins is not only unfair to those who have to dig with their hand into the bins afterwards to retrieve it, it is also a violation of Arnhem Conduct Rules (see 2. REFUSE DISPOSAL & RECYCLING) and can result in a fine.

No one can and will ever be forced to recycle, but it is vital that all residents adhere to the most basic rules of refuse disposal and at the very least do not use the GREEN ROOM for any kind of general household waste.

Although bins with different colour lids and signage help to pre-sort, it can still be confusing and often it is not immediately obvious what can be recycled and what should go into which bin. There are certain requirements for recyclable material and quite a few items are surprisingly not recyclable at all.

In the GREEN ROOM are signs with Recycling tips. We also provide a basic Recycling Guide. It is attached to this circular and can be downloaded from the Arnhem website. Additionally all residents will find a printout in their letter box with some simple recycling guidelines.

And: you can always ask Morné or Christopher and they will gladly assist.

Please keep in mind: Recycling starts already in the shops!

Here are a few simply guidelines to clear up some common misconceptions and keep misplaced items to a minimum:

Tetra Paks (milk or juice cartons) are not recyclable at the moment.

They need to be discarded with the normal household waste.

Why? Because they are made up of a combination of plastic, cardboard and aluminum sheets, glued together and are almost impossible to be broken down again into their base materials for recycling. Best would be to avoid buying them.

Glass can only be recycled as bottles or jars. Shards, fragments, panes, etc. cannot be transported to the depot.

Paper and cardboard should not be torn up into pieces. Best way to store and transport it is in big sheets. Boxes need to be flattened. All paper must be clean and without food residue. Used tissues and kitchen towels cannot be recycled.

Plastic is the most difficult one.

It is an overall term for many different types of material, much of which cannot be brought back into the recycling process.

Not recyclable is for example:

• styrofoam
• chips / crisps packets
• moulded food containers
• most fastfood packaging
• hard plastic (PVC)

Ideally you should avoid buying products in non-recycle packaging. To help with that, more and more manufactures print a clear logo on their packaging, similar to this:

Only four types of plastic can be recycled.

They can be identified by these numbers.

Rule of thumb:

If there is no logo to be found, or if you are not sure, rather place plastic items into the normal household waste.

There is no easy solution for a perfect sorting system, except for familiarising yourself with the different types of material, especially when it comes to plastic. It takes a little effort to wrap your head around the main options, but once embraced the separation comes by itself.

Although recycling does have a positive impact, we should keep in mind that first prize is the reduction of the total amount of waste generated. A lot of packaging is unnecessary and by actively choosing loose items, reusing containers and avoiding problematic materials we can save resources in the first place and ourselves the effort of getting rid of them afterwards.

Apart from typical recyclable material, the GREEN ROOM has also been used by residents for e-waste and other items to find a new home. This is generally encouraged by the Trustees, but must be restricted to goods that may still have some value to others. Please don’t place rubbish, disintegrating furniture or unhygienic items there.

The Trustees are pleased to announce that the recycling initiative at Arnhem has been a tremendous success over the first couple of months. Recyclable waste is now collected on a bi-weekly basis and has led to a significant reduction in municipal waste.

All residents are reminded that the bin room remains an outlet for any unwanted items (old furniture, clothing, books, cooking utensils, etc.). Residents should please refrain from putting these items in the foyer or stairwells.

Additionally, all persons participating in recycling to please note that some plastics cannot be recycled, specifically single-use, soft plastics such shopping bags. These plastics should generally not be disposed in the recycling bins, since they unnecessarily bulk up waste collected for recycling.

This includes:

• Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) used in shrink wrap and bread bags
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) used to produce plastic food wrap

Plastics can take up to a 1000 years to degrade, and re-using them at home or avoiding them altogether is great for the environment – since less plastic ends up in the ocean or landfills.

Plastics that can be recycled include:

• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) used in plastic bottles
• High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) used to create containers like detergent bottles
• Polypropylene (PP) used to create products such as sour cream containers
• Polystyrene (PS) used in cups and foam packaging

Plastic can be recycled to make various products, such as T-shirts, jackets, sleeping bags and carpets, among many others.

To maintain sanitary conditions in the bin room, it is generally preferable to give food-contaminated plastics and metals a quick rinse before recycling.

On behalf of all owners, the Trustees would like to thank Ken and Gayle for their many years of service.

The Trustees would like to remind all owners and residents that OSRO, our long-standing Managing Agent, is responsible for all administrative, financial and secretarial enquiries from owners:

OSRO Property Managing Agents CC

Physical Address:

301 Durban Road

Bellville

7535

Postal Address:

PO Box 2000

Bellville

7530

Office Hours:           08:30 – 16:30 (Monday to Friday)

Tel:                             (021) 910 0707

Fax:                            (021) 910 4283

TMZ is a local family business that collects, sorts and recycles various types of waste. The company provided the most cost-effective recycling solution and will be collecting on an ad-hoc basis.

Among the proposals considered, TMZ was the only company that covered e-waste and d-cell batteries, which is very commonly disposed of incorrectly.

There are now dedicated bins in the bin room (which is open 24/7) for the collection of:

• paper
• plastic
• glass
• metal and e-waste

The company also collects any donated and reusable items (such as old furniture, clothing and toys) which can also be left for collection in the bin room.