Greenpill Cape Town marked World Environment Day on June 5, 2026, with the launch of Trash to Treasure at The Commons in Cape Town. The exhibition, both physical and online, is a community art initiative by artists and artmakers from the Muizenberg and Vrygrond communities.
The evening program, from 6 to 8 PM, included the premiere of Message in a Bottle, an animation by the Berg Waste and Recycling Collective created by Chloé van Wyk, and a performance by musician Pedro Espri-Sanchez, who makes music from waste materials. The collective also launched its website, which covers the activities of the Marine Estate Connected Community, supported by Greenpill Cape Town. One of them is GroFree, run with the BacktoLand Campaign in Vrygrond, which turns garden and organic waste into compost and mulch.
Deep South circles
The exhibition grew out of a steady rhythm. Through late 2025 and 2026, the chapter hosted Deep South Sessions, open afternoon circles where residents and changemakers share stories and explore the social and environmental issues shaping their community, and Deep South Circles: Ideas into Action, facilitated evening sessions that turn those themes into collaboration. In its season report, the chapter described weekly online working sessions on Tuesday afternoons and an in-person gathering on the second Thursday of each month from January to June 2026.
What came next
The chapter reported two outcomes from the season: Trash to Treasure, and acceptance into a UNICEF Yoma cohort to launch The Dignity Project, which aims to help young people in Vrygrond earn income while improving waste management and living conditions in their community. It also reported receiving more than $8,000 in donations through Artizen, which will fund monthly celebration events from September through February.