How green is our valley?
2008-10-23
Lise Beyers
IN this time of global warming the emphasis is now upon us natives of this planet to conserve energy. The crux of the matter is that every individual must start to become more aware of recycling, and in doing so, much energy can be saved. Reduce, re-use and recycle are the key words in which we can all play a part in saving our much exhausted planet. And although the public in the Drakenstein area is encouraged to recycle, the municipality, has to date, no facilities in place for this. There are a few containers in Paarl for depositing glass for recycling, there is no facility for depositing plastic or tin for this purpose. Annually tons of dangerous waste such as batteries and mercury-filled light bulbs are dumped at the municipal landfill sight in Wellington, when these items are supposed to be disposed of separately. Municipal workers also do not work very sparingly with heavy duty refuse bags. These bags are barely half filled with garden waste, before being dumped. Thousands of these plastic bags, which are not biodegradable, are dumped monthly, again causing an environmental threat. Here the plastic bag has truly become the lily of the valley. However, slowly but surely the Drakenstein municipality is waking up to the fact that recycling is an urgent matter to attend to. Recently permission was granted to Maverick Trading, an independent waste recycler, to establish a buy-back centre. The idea of a buy-back centre is for unemployed people who have scavenged bins for salable items, to receive payment for recyclable waste such as glass, tin, plastic and paper. Maverick will buy these items from them and in turn sell them to companies who recycle them. Apart from a buy-back centre, Maverick Trading will also establish formal collection centres in various areas such as Paarl, Mbekweni, Wellington, Saron and Gouda. Currently they are exploring other methods of collection such as placing bins for plastic waste at various schools and shopping centres. The City of Cape Town has already been running a very successful recycling project which, although still only in its infant stages, is going from strength to strength. The principle of the project is very simple. A clear refuse bag is delivered to homes each week, for the purpose of collecting recyclable dry waste such as paper, plastic, glass and tin. All other biodegradable waste, known as wet waste, is placed at the bottom of the municipal wheelie bins, with the plastic bag for recycling on top. This bag is then collected by a private contractor who precedes the municipal refuse truck, sorts the goods into categories, and then passes them on to various businesses who recycle them. In some city centres, there are different municipal bins for either paper, glass, plastic or tin. According to the Cape Town City Council, 512 homes can be electrified annually by the amount of energy saved from a year of paper recycling in this city. For each ton of paper recycled, the City can save three metres of landfill space, save 17 pine trees, cut water consumption by 50%, and reduce waste water by 35%. Recycling not only benefits the environment, but it is also an opportunity for job creation. Thus, how green is our valley? Well it may be getting there. * For information on recycling in Wellington, contact Fritz Otto at 082-805-8420 or fritz@agrisense.co.za. Paarlites can take waste to Auret Street United Church, or contact 082-814-3254 or envirosmartwaste@gmail.com.
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