In my search to find an answer to our recycling dilemma at home, I stumbled upon a website that just might have all the answers I’m looking for! I say ‘recycling dilemma’ because since our orange recycling bags are no longer collected from our kerbs (for the time being, anyway), I’ve struggled to find places in Durban that will take ALL my recycling. There are various places, but they don’t all recycle everything that CAN be recycled, and I never know what to take where, so I’m sitting with a pile of recycling in my house – not ideal!
Treevolution’s Beginner ’s Guide to Recycling in South Africa is a great resource I found at www.treevolution.co.za. It explains all you need to know about recycling in SA and has a comprehensive list of all products that can be recycled, and you can even find out where to take which products. For instance, I learnt that my old appliances are e-waste and CANNOT be left on the dump. And there is a place just a few metres from where I live that accepts e-waste!
According to Treevolution, “South Africa recycles: Steel beverage cans (72%), paper (70%), glass (42%) and plastic (about 42%). Informal recyclers, or bin pickers, recover much of this material from dustbins and landfill sites. This is not ideal, firstly from the point of view of the health and safety of the recyclers, but also because the recyclable material is contaminated with other waste. First prize would be if households and businesses sorted their waste so that “uncontaminated” recyclable material can be collected.”
“The government wants to reduce the amount of plastic, cans, paper and glass going to landfills. To meet that target, households and businesses need to stop simply throwing everything away as rubbish and start implementing the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”
“Collect a Can Research done by recycling industry body Petco in 2016 found that only 11% of its target audience recycled “all the time”. Lack of storage space at home, and the absence of “easily accessible” recycling depots were cited as two of the biggest barriers. But many of the people interviewed for the research said they would be happy to take their recycling to depots if they were close enough to their homes.”
We need to look after what we’ve got. And that means living less wasteful lifestyles, and learning that we can no longer just use things once and throw them away into a landfill site.
Consider these steps before you recycle:
- Reduce the amount you consume. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.
- When you do buy something, choose a brand that has the least amount of packaging or the kind that can be reused, recycled or composted.
- Look also for products that are made from recycled material. If there is a demand for recycled plastic products, more plastic will be recycled and less will end up in a landfill or polluting oceans.
- Before you throw something away, either for recycling or into your normal rubbish, think first if there is any way it can be reused.
You can read more and download the guide at www.treevolution.co.za/guide-2018/.
By Sarah Mackintosh.