Leading up to National Recycling Day on September 20, Mpact Recycling encouraged the country to start thinking about their waste by asking #AreYouGoingToRecycleThat.
Every time a recyclable item of waste gets put into your general dustbin rather than being sorted for recycling, municipal transport costs to and from the landfill are incurred.
However, when it comes to recycling, it is not all doom and gloom, with the paper recovery rate in SA being above the global average of 59.3 per cent.
Over the past 10 years, more than 11.3 million tonnes of paper and paper packaging have been recovered for recycling locally. If baled, this amount would cover the surface of 2 055 soccer fields, one-metre deep.
On the plastic front, the recycling rates for (polythylene terephthalate) PET bottles, for example, your fizzy drinks and water bottles, has improved over the years.
Recycling in SA is currently around 67 per cent of all plastic PET bottles produced – up from 55 per cent in 2016.
SA is, therefore, ahead of international standards and currently a recycling world-leader.
SA recycling infrastructure has developed to make it as easy as possible to #SeparateAtSource as certain recyclable materials can be grouped together.
This is called multi-recycling and simply means separating all your recyclables from your general waste. In fact, all your paper-based recyclables can go in one clear refuse bag, making recycling accessible and easy. So, before you throw away your cereal boxes, milk and juice cartons, toilet rolls, cardboard, newspapers or magazines, interrogate your waste and ask yourself #AreYouGoingToRecycleThat?
The balance of your recyclables, such as glass, plastic and cans, can be placed in a separate bag, purely because they often carry liquid which can contaminate paper and cardboard.
“How recycling is collected differs from community to community. There might be a formal recycling collector, kerbside collectors who service particular residential areas, or local community collection points, such as schools, retirement villages or shopping malls,” said John Hunt, managing director of Mpact Recycling.
Good recycling practices can also contribute to economic growth and job creation, and reduce social and environmental costs.
This, in turn, positively impacts the circular economy which refers to waste items being reused or recycled, to be made into something new in an effort to eliminate waste reaching landfills.
“Understanding the ways recycling works in your community and the significant implications of not recycling is a great way to start making your own positive impact on the volume of waste on South African landfills,” said Hunt.
Big change can start with small actions, right in your home.
Think about every piece of waste you throw into your dustbin and ask yourself then, once you know how easy it is to #SeparateAtSource, you can find out how recycling collection works in your community.
Visit www.mpactrecycling.co.za for more information.
