Mary Honeybun
Cape Town, South Aftrica – Mary Honeybun of Cape Town, South Aftrica, turns tiny pieces of plastic into life-changing gifts! The incredible octogenarian raises funds for wheelchairs by collecting the tags used to keep plastic bags tied around a loaf of bread – something most people discard without giving it a second thought.
Mary sells the bread tags for recycling and facilitates the handing out of wheelchairs for disabled people with the help of the Wheelchair Foundation. Most of the recipients of the chairs had lost limbs through diabetes or the ability to walk due to a stroke.
Mary Honeybun was initially inspired when she heard of a project through which “people collect the plastic tags at the top of bread bags to raise funds for charity projects” and in 2006, she founded Bread Tags for Wheelchairs.
Currently, Mary Honeybun is working in partnership with Adri Spannenberg, director of the Polystyrene Packaging Council of SA – an NPO – and they hope that soon more people in need will be given their independence.
The Polystyrene Packaging Council have helped Mary organize the transport for her tags to the recycling plant and made containers for her collections. They also supply her with labels and photo frames, which she hands out during her talks to schools and other groups, although Mary prefers to re-use old boxes in the spirit of recycling.
[nggallery id=10]