WATCH: Recycle this September
JOBURG – September is Glass Recycling Month and what better way to celebrate than by learning more about recycling.
September is Glass Recycling Month and there’s no better time than now to learn about the importance of this form of recycling and seeing what you can do to protect our planet.
We spoke to CEO of The Glass Recycling Company, Shabeer Jhetam to learn about what they do and how Sandtonians can lend a hand.
“The majority of recycling comes from low-income groups, but we want it to become a normal practice for those in higher LSMs. There is a lot of apathy in the higher LSMs,” said Jhetam.
The company has over 1 000 glass banks across Gauteng, so there is great potential for recycling. They are working to encourage hotels, restaurants and other role-players in the hospitality industry to begin recycling their glass, thereby preventing glass from ending up in landfills.
According to Jhetam, 40 per cent of all glass is recycled. While this does not appear to be a large percentage, we must bear in mind that many glass items are returnable and are not included in this measurement. In their latest figures, the recycling company said that 87 per cent of glass is prevented from entering landfills, meaning that only 13 per cent of glass ends up in landfills.
This is a great achievement for recycling, but there is still much to be done to reduce glass at landfills. It is, therefore, the mandate of The Glass Recycling Company to increase awareness about recycling and encourage individuals and businesses to play their part in recycling glass.
According to Jhetam, glass is the most recycled material in the market and can be recycled infinitely without it deteriorating the product. Recycled glass makes up about 41 per cent of any ‘new’ glass product.
Recycling positively affects our environment by lowering energy use, reducing CO2 emissions, reducing the amount of glass at landfill sites and lessening a number of raw materials required to manufacture a new product.
People are aware that they should recycle, but they still don’t know how. Jhetam outlined two options for households. Either they can collect their glass and deposit it at glass banks near their home or pack glass items into a separate bag when taking out their rubbish so that urban waste miners can recycle it. The public is also encouraged to take back returnable glass items.
The Glass Recycling Company has been in the field for 11 years and has over 4 000 glass banks across the country, so there’s no excuse but to play your part and recycle.
Details: To find out more about recycling and where to locate your closest glass bank, visit www.trgc.co.za
