Wendy on do's and don'ts of recycling

Well, three and a half months on, the only clear bags we’ve seen were the ones distributed in a Saturday newspaper at the weekend.

Things haven’t gone exactly to plan, Robert told Consumerwatch this week. Neither those packs of clear bags nor the new orange drawstring version of them, for paper and plastics recycling, have been delivered to households.

But the good news is that the problems are apparently all sorted out now, and we can expect the clear bags for glass and cans to be delivered to our homes within two weeks - well in time for the mountain of glass which the festive season generates.

What to remember 

There are a few glass can dos and can don’ts - see below. 

The most important thing to remember is the bottles and cans must be dry - any last sips of beer or wine will leak out and contaminate a whole lot of potential recycling material which will then have to be diverted to the landfill. Huge waste, excuse the pun.

How enthusiastic are East Coasters about recycling their household waste?

Well it varies, but I was surprised by Robert’s answer when I posed that question to him - on average, more than 90% of households are separating their paper and plastic from non recyclable, black bag rubbish and putting it into orange bags for recycling. 

That’s because Durban Solid Waste has made it very easy for households to recycle. In fact, we’re showing the other, bigger cities how to do it. 

“Our initiative is the cheapest and the easiest method to work with because it doesn’t cost council any more than producing the bags,” he said. That’s because the collection and recycling has been outsourced to entrepreneur partners.

"Other cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg are also recycling household waste, but they’re using the bin system which is a bit expensive, so now they are looking at adopting the Orange Bag system.."

As always, the areas to the west - Westville through to Hillcrest - are the star recyclers, and areas to the north, are the polar opposite - that’s north of Umhlanga through to Tongaat, including Phoenix. 

That’s such a pity. It’s just not okay to stuff glass, cans, paper and recyclable plastic into black bags and send them off to take up landfill space which is in very short supply. Not when your city is making it so easy for you to do the right thing.

Statistics on recycling in SA 

I attended a two-day Packaging Institute congress in Sandton last week, where recycling was a major theme.

In a panel discussion, representatives of bodies responsible for the recycling of the four major substrates shared some really interesting stats.

Of all paper produced in SA, about 64% is currently being recycled.

72% of cans are recycled, 85 to 90% of glass, and at the bottom of the pile, just 22,5% of plastic.

And I learnt something very interesting - like many, I’m sure, I assumed that buying refills in those soft plastic sachets, was better for the environment than buying the big plastic bottles all the time - less plastic.

In fact, the Handy Andy Actifizz refill actually states “Save money, save plastic!” on the label.

Well, here’s the thing. The bottles are both re-usable, and recyclable, so that plastic doesn’t have to land up in the landfill. Those soft plastic refills, on the other hand, are neither - you can’t re-use them for anything, and they are non-recyclable.

And they’re not always the cheaper option either, because the refill packs are often smaller in volume or weight than the original pack. I did a price comparison this week and found that in several cases, the refill option was the more expensive...for example Jacobs coffe and Frisco coffee - so really a lose lose.

Not good for the environment, and no cheaper for you.

The pack which won the Gold medal in the household category at last week’s Gold Pack awards - the Oscars of the packing industry - was Omo’s new red hand wash liquid detergent bottle - for ease of use, and the fact that it’s fully recyclable, cap and all. 

The traditional stand-up pouches of washing powder - are not recyclable.

Okay, so getting back to the new, about to be distributed clear plastic bags for cans and glass - we’re being urged not to put them on the verge with just a few empties in them; only put them out when the bags are full. 

What to do with glass and cans until DSW delivers those clear bags?

Just put them into supermarket bags, and the Orange Bag truck will collect them for recycling. I’ve been doing that for a while. 

Our family puts out a partially full black bag every week, two or three orange bags of recyclable paper and plastic, and then a few small bags of glass and cans.

The reality is that most of our household “rubbish” is recyclable. No more shoving everything into a black bag, putting it outside and forgetting about it. 

Come on Durban - let’s show the rest of the country how it’s done.

What to put in orange bags 

All plastic containers (rinsed) and wrappings Paper Flattened cardboard Tetrapak Clean polystyrene

What to put into clear bags

Empty cans, rinsed in grey water and drained Aerosols, with a hole punched in them Glass bottles - wine, cool drink, beer, spirit, food, with all foil, metal, tops and adornments removed;

NO can lids

NO paint

No chemicals

NO broken window panes, fluorescent tubes, light bulbs or dish ware

What must go in black bags 

Food

Glass

Bottles

Foil

Soiled pizza boxes

Stained polystyrene

Garden Refuse

Pet pooh

Chemicals

Stompies