Smallholders will notice when they are driving on refuse removal day what the waste pickers are removing from the wheelie bins. It would seem that few of us have a culture of recycling.
Surely by now we don’t need to be told about the impact of the unnecessarily huge amount of waste in our landfills, which in turn are giving off harmful methane gas.
It’s not complicated ~ here’s what we can all do.
Sort & Separate:
1. Glass,
2. Plastic,
3. Paper
4. Metal
5. Biodegradable food waste.
Place each category of waste into separate bin bags. After a week you will have some idea of the size of container that you will need for each kind.
Start a compost heap, if you don’t already have one, for the vegetable peelings and other biodegradable waste. (No fat, oil, meat or bones.)
Collection Options:
• Municipal collection service of recyclables if you are lucky;
• Take it yourself to a recycling centre ~ check on www.mywaste.co.za for your nearest depot;
• Leave it next to your rubbish bin for the waste pickers to take.
If you are using this last option, put the different kinds of waste into separate bags to make it easier and quicker.
Involve the whole family and your employees.
You can download a very useful guide here.
Keep it simple to start with. As you get the hang of recycling one thing, you can add another, and eventually you’ll get to the point where you’ll be amazed at how little you actually throw away.