12 | Greenstone life october 2017
12 | Greenstone life october 2017
Guide to recycling in Greenstone
Recycling for your average suburban household in South Africa is a bit of a schlep: the infrastructure for collecting recyclable material isn’ t really in place – yet. So how can you do your bit to help?
W hen our 6-year-old son, who is in Grade R at the local Elma Park Pre- Primary School, was recently learning about recycling as one of their weekly themes, he had many questions about our recycling habits – some of them very uncomfortable. Yes, we recycle paper and plastic in our home where we can, but what about glass, he asked? And why don’ t we make our own compost from our food waste?
His curiosity and questions were the inspiration for this article – how can we all do a little bit more to help our planet? What household waste can actually be recycled, and where can we take it locally? Read on to find out!
South African households generally have to separate their rubbish and take the recyclables to a municipal drop-off centre or a buy-back centre because there’ s not much in the way of kerbside collection. Many people just can’ t be bothered. But, there are also many people out there who would recycle if they knew how to. This guide aims to help you get started.
How good is South Africa at recycling? The recovery rates for various materials are as follows:
• Cans: 69 percent
• Paper: 59 percent
• Glass: About 25 percent
• Plastic: About 17 percent
Informal recyclers 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 sorted their waste, so that“ uncontaminated” recyclable material could be collected. Why you should recycle Firstly, the Earth’ s resources are not infinite so we shouldn’ t waste them. And, you know
that sign that reads“ Leave this place in the same condition as you’ d like to find it”? Well, the same applies to the planet. You’ d rather see your grandchildren running through piles of fallen autumn leaves than piles of discarded rubbish( wouldn’ t you?). More specifically, the government wants to reduce the amount of plastic, cans, paper and glass going to landfills by 70 percent in the next decade or so. To meet that target, households need to stop simply throwing away rubbish and start implementing the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
What can be recycled? Metal
• Cold drink and beer cans
• Food tins
• Metal lids of glass jars
• Aluminium cans( e. g, Red Bull), foil and foil packaging
• Paint, oil and aerosol cans( leave labels on them so recyclers can see whether they contain hazardous material).
• Rusty cans can be recycled
Glass
• Beverage bottles
• Food jars such as tomato sauce, jam and mayonnaise bottles
The following cannot be recycled:
• Drinking glasses
• Light bulbs – ordinary and energy-saving compact fluorescent lights( CFLs) – and fluorescent tubes. CFLs and fluorescent tubes should not be thrown away with ordinary rubbish. They contain mercury, a toxin that can leach into the soil and groundwater if not disposed of properly. Take your old CFLs to the drop-off points at Pick n Pay and
Woolworths stores where they will be disposed of safely. If you don’ t have this option, place your old CFLs in a sealed plastic bag before you throw them in the bin.
• To dispose of standard fluorescent tubes you can either contact Don’ t Waste Services on 08610-92783 if you have a lot of them. Also in JHB and surrounds in JHB / surrounds are: Brakpan: Computer scrap recycling – 011-740-4330; Kempton Park: Desco electric recyclers – 011-979-3017 or you can contact Ewasa( the E-Waste Association of SA) for other contacts.
Good reasons to recycle
• The first step is to try to reduce the amount you consume – if you don’ t need it, don’ t buy it – and you’ ll reduce the amount of waste you generate.
• 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. And look for products that are as Earth-friendly as possible.
• Look also for products that are made from recycled material, if there’ s a demand for recycled plastic products, for example, more plastic will be recycled and less will end up in landfill or polluting the oceans. Also less virgin material will have to be mined or grown. Remember, what you buy influences what’ s made.
• Before you throw something away, think first if there’ s any way it can be reused. Can you grow seedlings in it or use it to hold paper clips or wrap a birthday present? Can it be given to a charity shop or a children’ s home? This may sound obvious, but we’ ve been living in a disposable culture for so long that some of us forget to ask these kinds of questions.
Reason 1: Every metric ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees and uses 40 percent less energy, and 50 percent less water. If all household paper / cardboard were recycled 750 000 cubic metres of landfill space would be saved a year, saving local authorities R60 million a year in collection and landfill costs. The energy saved from paper recycling in a year is sufficient to provide electricity to 512 homes for a year.( Source: Paper Recycling Association of SA)
19 Karen Road, Edenvale( just outside Greenstone)
Reason 2: Glass is 100 percent recyclable but it does not biodegrade. The raw materials for glass – sand, soda and lime – all have to be dug from the earth and melted together at very high temperatures. Energy is saved by recycling. The energy saved from recycling just one bottle will power a 100 watt light bulb for almost an hour. Every ton of glass recycled also saves 1,2 tons of raw materials.( Source: The Glass Recycling Company)
Reason 3: Cans are 100 percent recyclable. They are melted down to make new steel. This reduces the need to mine new iron ore and saves on the energy used to mine and process it. More than 36 000 tons of high-grade steel is recovered for resmelting a year.( Source: Collect-a-can)
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Reason 4: A total of 562 million PET bottles were recovered for recycling in 2007 alone. This removed 19 000 tons of plastic from landfill, but that was only 24 percent of the PET bottles made that year. Recycling a ton of PET containers saves 7,4 cubic metres of landfill space. And 19 x 500ml PET bottles can be recycled into enough fibre filling for a standard pillow.( Source: Petco)