Did you take part in Recycling Week? Last week saw many initiatives around South Africa, culminating in International Coastal Cleanup day on Saturday 17 September, where thousands of people globally stepped into their environment to give of their time by cleaning up our act.
Sadly, we have created a linear consumer system – we take natural resources; we make what we think we need in order to be content; and we waste items too rapidly with little regard for their continued value.
Recycling is one of the easiest ways to make a positive difference to the environment. However, also try not to purchase products with packaging that cannot be recycled, so that you send a strong message to the manufacturers to design and package their products in a more environmentally responsible manner.
Here's how YOU can consider the value in every product BEFORE discarding it.
What you CAN recycle
Paper
Cardboard and paper are excellent materials for recycling. For every ton of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved, and 40% less energy and 30% less water is needed to make paper.
- Recycle: Cardboard boxes; newspapers; cereal cartons; chocolate boxes; toilet-roll inners; egg boxes; gift wrap; magazines; Tetra Pak containers
See how SAPPI recycles cardboard into other paper products:
Glass
For every ton of glass recycled, 1.2 tons of raw materials and 114 litres of oil energy are saved. It is important to remove bottle tops and corks from glass bottles and containers. Certain glass products cannot be recycled.
- Recycle: Wine bottles; beer bottles; chutney bottles; jam jars; any glass bottles
For a fun family activity, find your inspiration for getting arty here:
Metal
Recycling tins and cans saves about 95% of the energy needed to make a new can from iron ore.
- Recycle: Cooldrink cans; food cans; lids and tops
About 400 tons of cans are recycled monthly in the Western Cape. Collect-a-Can claims to recycle 66% of all beverage cans in South Africa, providing a source of income to more than 37 000 people. Metals are used to make new products of the same quality – conserving irreplaceable natural resources.
There is a huge demand for all steel scrap metals worldwide. South Africa exports up to 50% of the scrap that it recovers. It does not matter if cans are crushed, rusted or burnt – they can all be recycled.
Plastic
Unfortunately, other than for PET, HDPE and LDPE plastic types, there is very little demand within the recycling industry in South Africa to recover plastics from post-consumer sources, which means they currently end up at a landfill site. Consumers can REDUCE AND REFUSE as much plastic packaging as possible to begin with.
Get acquainted with the following acronyms – check for the P codes on the bottles:
- PET-1 recycling: Bottles of cooking oils; dishwashing liquid; juice; hard plastic fruit trays; soft drinks; water bottles
- PE-HD-2 recycling: Most detergents; shampoo; milk; thin plastic bags
- PE-LD-4 recycling: Thin plastic bags (e.g. sliced bread); milk bags; six-pack shrink wraps for beer; magazine wrappers; bulk toilet-roll wrappers; fruit and vegetable bags; bubble wrap; thick shopping bags
- PP-5 recycling: Ice-cream tubs; yoghurt tubs; margarine tubs; feta; ready-made meal trays; fruit trays
- PS-6 recycling: Foamed meat trays; fast-food clamshells
Remember, plastic bottles are not trash:
The problem with most forms of recycling is that it requires yet more energy to go through this process. Surely reusing is a better solution? Remember the intensity of this process the next time you purchase plastic bottled water:
E-waste
This includes electronic equipment such as TVs, computers, cellphones and household appliances. Computers are one of the messiest contributors to the environment. They give off carcinogens and toxic waste, and going the extra mile to recycle them, rather than just turfing them, is made that much easier by companies such as Computer Scrap Recycling and Virgin Earth.
- Recycle: All electrical appliances
See eWASA for a list of other recyclers of e-waste. You could also donate your working computer to a charity or use freecycle.org.
Nokia has started a cellphone recycling programme, and you can refill your printer ink cartridges at Cartridge Depot and Cartridge World.
Oil
One litre of oil can form an oil slick on water bigger than two soccer fields. Never pour antifreeze, oil or other chemicals onto the ground, into storm-water sewers or down the drain.
- Recycle: Most garages participate in oil recycling programmes. If you service your car at home, return the used oil to the garage or a recovery depot such as the ROSE Foundation, a non-profit organisation that collects, stores and recycles lubricating oil
Do NOT recycle
- Coat hangers; wet or dirty paper (tissues, paper towel, food wrappings, paper with spills); wax- or plastic-coated packaging for liquids (milk cartons); self-adhesive paper (Post-it notes); carbon paper; chemically treated fax or photographic paper; dog-food bags; potato bags; wax-coated boxes
- Pet food pouches; soup pouches; bacon vacuum packs
Where can I recycle?
Plastics generally do not degrade as they are made from petroleum-based chemicals (oil, coal and gas). They can be a problem to recycle because they are often combined with other materials. Plastics are made from different plastic polymers. It is important that similar plastics are recycled together. It is best to find out what your nearest recycling depot accepts, as dumping materials that cannot be recycled will make your waste their headache! Your goods for recycling should also be rinsed before they can be recycled.
Find your closest recycler on the National Recycling List.
What does the Two Oceans Aquarium do for recycling?
Visitors to our Aquarium will notice convenient recycling stations dotted all around our building. Please make use of them.
In the AfriSam Children’s Play Centre we educate from a very young age through our puppet stories, arts and crafts, and also fun recycling stations.
Annually, four internal waste audits are conducted to constantly keep an eye on the way in which we handle our generated waste behind the scenes. We are then also audited, once annually, by an external environmental company that guides us to be the best we can be in this regard.
We hope you now feel inspired, as well as empowered, to set up recycling systems in all sectors of your lives. You can make a difference!
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