JOHANNESBURG – Did you know? – SA ranks among the top six countries worldwide in terms of recycling rates for cans!
Harry the Hominid, Maropeng’s spokeshominid, says that today the can is the most successfully recycled primary packaging in SA with beverage cans now only contributing less than one per cent of litter.
Recycling makes great “cents”, says Harry. Not only is it a great way of saving raw materials, but it also reduces the need for landfill. Did you know, for example, that the volume of all cans recovered during the last ten years (this means the space these saved cans take up) equals the volume of major landfill sites designed to accommodate all the rubbish of a major city like Johannesburg over a 15-year period?
Harry says that recycling also creates much needed jobs for many unemployed and underemployed entrepreneurs who operate as collectors. Of the 40 000 people earning or supplementing their income by collecting, about 80 per cent have no other formal means of employment.
Collect-a-Can is the company responsible for the collection of cans and tins for recycling in South Africa. They urge all parents to teach their children:
• To recycle both food and beverage tins.
• To encourage everyone in the family to do this, including friends.
• Start a collection point at a local school, shopping centre or community hall.
“Remember every can recycled not only helps the environment, but also helps alleviate poverty,” says Harry.
For more information visit www.collectacan.co.za
