Resources
Here are some useful resources that can help people and businesses in Durban reduce waste.
Sustainable Waste Management Guideline
This booklet provides detailed guidelines on how individuals and institutions can reduce waste. This booklet has been produced by the eThekwini Municipality through the Greeing 2010 programme.
EDU-SELF Booklet
The eThekwini Municipality Cleansing & Solid Waste Unit has published this EDU-SELF booklet covering all aspects of recycling & waste minimisation. The booklet is in a user-friendly form and is multi-lingual (3 languages: English, Isizulu and Afrikaans).
Recycling Database
The Imagine Durban project has developed a database of non-profit organisations that are in need of second hand goods. Instead of sending second hand goods to the waste dump donate them to a needy cause.
Wise up to Waste
Some people actually believe that by throwing their litter on the ground, they are creating jobs for other people to pick up and collect their litter. This is a very harmful idea. The money spent by local authorities paying for the collection of litter could be used for providing schools, hospitals and other important public services – which all create far better jobs than collecting litter. So the hidden cost of your litter is fewer public services and poorer quality jobs.
In addition, litter affects the quality of water causing sickness and disease. When it rains in towns and cities, all the litter in the street is washed into stormwater drains. This water also becomes polluted by oil from cars and other chemical liquid-waste products that wash off roads and paved areas into the storm-water. Usually, storm water, with all the litter, chemicals and germs in it, flows into our rivers. This river water may be used by people living many kilometres away.
Polluted water creates an unhealthy environment for people and can kill animals, fish and many other living things. Eventually, storm-water drains may also become blocked by litter, causing unpleasant flooding.
Reduce
This critical first step, which has been much overshadowed by the call to recycle, starts with Rethinking your Reality. By changing our beliefs and value systems we can change our future reality.
- Simplify your life as much as possible. Only keep belongings that you use and enjoy on a regular basis. By making the effort to reduce what you own, you will naturally purchase less and create less waste in the future.
- Switch from disposable to reusable products, including food and beverage containers, cups, plates, pens, razors, nappies and shopping bags.
- In general, think before you buy any product. Do I really need it? How did the production of this product impact the environment and what further impacts will there be with the disposal of the product (and associated packaging materials)?
- Apply yourself to eliminate impulse buying.
- Avoid products that are packaged for single use – drinks, school lunches, sweets, cat and dog food, salads etc. Instead buy in bulk and transfer the product to your own reusable containers.
- Avoid creating waste and rubbish. When ordering food, ask in advance not to be given plastic utensils and condiments, buy ice cream in a cone and buy products with the least amount of packaging. Every bit of waste avoided does make a difference.
Save trees
- replace paper towels with a set of cloth towels and napkins that you can wash and reuse
- buy toilet paper that is made from recycled paper
- print on both sides of office paper when printing, and use bleach-free, recycled paper with the highest post-consumer waste content available
- leave messages for family members and roommates on a reusable message board.
Reuse
The media have done a truly wonderful job of selling us all on the attractiveness and benefits of buying ‘new’, ‘improved’, ‘special’ products. However, we already collectively own so much that we could all survive for quite a while on the existing products – if we just reused them a few times.
- Save and reuse all bags (plastic and paper), rubber bands, wire twisties, boxes and packaging material. Use containers for keeping food in the fridge instead of plastic wrapping that cannot be reused.
- Choose glass over plastic when buying goods as more local authorities recycle glass than plastic.
- Donate old clothes, furniture and other products to charity.
- Donate old computer equipment to schools and organisations.
- Organise a community swap programme (see the listing for SANE for information on its Community Exchange System (CES) at www.ces.org.za).
- Buy products that will last and take care of them.
- Buy second-hand books.
Recycle
In general, try to buy as many products that are made from recycled material as possible in order to support the recycled product market. Tell your local retailers that you want them to stock more products made from recycled materials.
- When purchasing paper products, look for paper that has been recycled using a minimum of 50% post-consumer waste. Also, purchase from companies that do not use chlorine to bleach their paper products, which creates harmful dioxin waste.
- Purchase rechargeable batteries and a battery charger (some battery chargers will also recharge standard alkaline batteries).
- Learn about and create a fact sheet on recycling centres in your area for yourself and yourneighbours. Recycling centres collect, sort and store recyclable materials such as glass, paper, tins and plastics. The centres then sell these materials to factories that can recycle the waste into useful products. Recycling centres also cerate jobs, thus alleviating poverty.
- Find out where you can recycle newspapers, glass, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic, aluminium, paper, tin cans, scrap metal, junk mail, motor oil and alkaline batteries.
- When replacing any electronic equipment at home, make sure that you are not contributing to the toxic and chemical problems related to e-waste.Contact the Electronic Waste Association of South Africa to ensure safe disposal and recycling of valuable parts.
- Create designated holding bins for each type of recycled product. This makes it easier for you to remember to use and more convenient for you to handle.
CONTACTS AND RESOURCES
Paper:
Nampak Recycling • 0800 018 818
Sappi Waste • 0800 221 330
Glass:
Glass Recycling Association • 011 827 4311
Cans:
Collect-A-Can • 0800 111 232
Oil:
ROSE Foundation • 021 448 7492;
OILKOL (used motor oil) • 011 762 5506
Plastics:
Plastics Federation of South Africa • 011 314 4021
Recycling:
Cape Town: The Fairest Cape Association • 021 462 2040
Durban: Association of Clean Communities • 031 303 1665
Gauteng: Pikitup • 011 712 5200
Waste Management:
Pikitup • 011 712 5200
Enviroserv Waste Management • 011 422 2560
e-Waste:
Electronic Waste Association of South Africa • www.e-waste.org.za and info@e-waste.org.za
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