For decades, South Africa's township residents have engaged in practices that could easily be categorised as circular economy initiatives. Broken furniture is repaired, old clothes are stitched up and discarded items are reimagined into useful products. In many ways, the township has always been green.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min The township has long been a space of limited resources, where survival is the order of the day. This is underpinned by the reality that when all you can do is sink or swim, you are seldom left with any choice but to make a plan. Yet, beneath the surface of struggle, it is a place of profound opportunity. The township, with all its challenges, is a natural embodiment of the principles of the circular economy -- a system of reusing, repurposing and minimising waste to create value.

For decades, South Africa's township residents have engaged in practices that could easily be categorised as circular economy initiatives, long before the term became popular. These practices didn't arise from environmental awareness but from necessity, a powerful driver of innovation. The resilience and resourcefulness of township residents have allowed them to create something from nothing, to turn what others consider waste into valuable resources.

Take, for example, the reuse of everyday materials. Our grandmothers would repurpose old margarine or ice cream containers to store food, and it wasn't uncommon to see a sack used to store oranges sewn tightly and...