I have been featuring
Victorian Garden for the past couple of days on my blog, but with good reason. The website is absolutely interesting and I cannot wait to use their products and blog about it.
Reduce – Re-Use – Recycle
We urgently need to start living more sustainably. The world has a
fixed amount of natural resources, some of which are already depleted. So as
population growth naturally strains our finite resources, there are fewer
resources available. If we wish to leave our children and grandchildren with the
same standard of living we have enjoyed, then we must preserve the foundation of
that standard of living.
Some of the greatest threats to future resources come from
things we throw away every
day. Throwing away items that could be recycled diminishes energy, water and
natural resources that could be saved by recycling. Here are eight easy steps to
get you started! “..GOING GREEN” not only reduces your living costs, it more
importantly contribute to the well-being of the Earth !
• Buy Local: Shop at your local farmers' market
where you are guaranteed a higher quality product. Buying locally produced goods
saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other
items across the country, or fly them in from other countries. It also
strengthens the community by supporting local businesses.
• Composting: helps reduce the amount of waste
you send to the landfill and creates free, healthy fertilizer for your garden.
• Get Water Wise: Try to install low-flow
showerheads to reduce the amount of water used. Take shorter showers – not only
will this save water but also the energy used to heat it. For washing, try cold
water whenever possible and dry clothes outside on a washing line.
• Make sure you are using longer-lasting low energy
fluorescent bulbs
• Try to avoid buying bottled water – rather
filter tap water for drinking. The bottles produce large amount of container
waste which is very harmful to the environment.
• Go Vegetarian … even just one night a week!
Becoming Vegetarian is not for everyone but try one meatless meal a week.
Industrial meat production requires huge energy inputs and creates noxious waste
problems.
• Recycle your cartridges : Toner contains
carbon black, a possible human carcinogen. If sent to a local landfill, this
leaks through the bottom barrier and pollutes the groundwater. This can
contaminate everything from the soil in which our food grows to the water which
will eventually come out of our taps. Many of these chemicals cannot be removed
from the drinking water supply, nor from the crops that are harvested from
contaminated fields. The risks to human health are tremendous. Manufacturers
claim that the toner is a respiratory irritant but not toxic under normal usage.
Recycle cartridges when re-use is not possible or try to re-fill your cartridges
and toners at a cartridge shop. It takes approximately 1000 years for an
incorrectly discarded cartridge to decompose so rather re-fill!
Glass recycling
Greenies, its time to get
off your glass and recycle those old bottles and jars. The Glass Recycling
Company is a non-profit organisation that has been striving for many years to
clean up South Africa by providing glass banks and buy-back centres around the
country.
Recycling glass is important for the following reasons:
- South African figures show that only 26% of recyclable glass
produced is eventually recycled which means that a whopping 74% is finding its
way to landfills where it will stay FOREVER
- By recycling one glass bottle, you can create enough energy to
power a 100W bulb for almost an hour, a TV for 20 minutes or a washing machine
for 10 minutes.
- Glass can be recycled over and over again, which will save on
using new resources.
- It takes 1 ton of cullet (recycled glass) to recreate 1 ton of
glass, whereas it takes 1.2 tons of raw materials to create 1 ton of glass.
So the reasons for putting aside all your old bottles and jars are
clear. Help to clean up South Africa - its easy! !
HOT TIPS ON WHERE TO TAKE YOUR RECYCLING FROM
AROUND SOUTH AFRICA
• JOBURG – BENONI: Lakeside Mall in Benoni off
Tom Jones street has a full recycling plant - they will take everything from
paper to plastics, glass and cardboard. Elizabeth is employed to help with the
sorting and Don't Waste collects the different bags full of waste. So its quick
and easy - so stop at Lakeside Mall and they will help you.
• JOBURG – RANDBURG : The Brightwater Commons
(Old Waterfront) in Randburg has convenient recycling bins setup especially for
glass and plastic
• CAPETOWN : Schools do take glass. San Souci
Girls High School and Rondebosch Boys High School.
Also in The Spar on
Rosmead Avenue parking Lot.
Oasis on Lansdowne Road This is Western Cape
Southern Suburbs.
• CAPETOWN - GARDENS: There is a glass bank in
Upper Wandel Street in Gardens as well as recycling of everything at Jan van
Riebeek Laerskool. The entrance is in New Church Street
• CAPETOWN – CONSTANTIA/TOKAI: Many churches
recycle at least newspapers. I generally recycle plastic, glass, cardboard, tin
etc behind Pick ' Pay Constantia (Cape Town). When a beggar there became too
bothersome one evening I went looking for an alternative and eventually dropped
off my recycling in Tokai - on the Corner of Main & Tokai Roads. I'm sure
there are many more places en route, but they are unmarked! We really need a
clear and distinctive street sign system for recycling depots
• GAUTENG : In Gauteng every Pick-it-up site,
where they accept garden refuse and builders rubble, also has a corner to
deliver glass, paper, cardboard and all kinds of plastic- they take anything you
want to get rid off.
•
GLASS RECYLCING – CHECK OUT WEBSITE: If you go
to http
http://www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za/
this is a great website to be able to locate where your nearest glass
recycling depot around South Africa.
• JOBURG – SANDTON : Recycling bins for bottles,
plastic & paper at The Place in Sandton (next to the American Embassy). The
bins are placed at the visitors entrance. Ask the security guards on site, they
will help you. Hopefully soon we will also have a bin for electronics.
• KZN – HILLCREST (UPPER HIGHWAY): you live in
the Hillcrest, KwaZulu Natal area there is a full recycling depot there on
Delamore Road, which is next door to the Hillcrest Library.
www.wholeearth.co.za
offer a recycling collection service in the Bryanston, Gauteng area and
intend branching out around the country
Footprints Environmental Recycling Centre: Wynberg,
Capetown - they not only provide employment they recycle all coulrs
glass, cardboard, paper, lots of different plastic and even polystyrene. They
also will dispose of used engine oil for you and they take e-waste, take it
apart and recycle it responsibly.
Phone (021) 794-5863
If anyone has any useful information on this topic, or websites
which you feel we should mention within South Africa, please do let us know.
With grateful thanks to Minette Tonnoli for
the following contribution
Reduce – Re-Use- Recycle
A simple mantra with far-reaching effects. Some more tips on
“going green” ……………………
Reducing means you
don't use as much and waste even less. Take your own shopping bag/basket instead
of taking the plastic ones provided, or at least reuse the ones you got from
your last trip to the supermarket. Buying fresh fruit and vegetables from
farmers' markets also reduces the amount of packaging you'll be throwing out
(besides the fact that the food may be cheaper, a better quality and much
healthier!). Wherever it is possible refuse packaging that is not recyclable or
eco-friendly. Drink distilled or filtered water at home or water that comes
bottled in glass, not plastic. Use less kitchen paper towels - rather use a
cloth to wipe up spills. Use hankies instead of tissues where you can. Reduce
your junk mail - get your bank and other statements sent to you online.
Reusing means you don't just throw an item in
the trash when you can very well still use it for something again. Effectively
it's recycling at home! Glass jam jars are great for storing your dried herbs
in or for brewing your tinctures in! Reuse old paper - cut a stack of printed A4
pages in quarters, turn them around and viola - you've got a home-made telephone
message pad.
Recycling means your used
product gets a second life, another use. Less trash is sent to landfills and you
end up saving natural resources such as trees, oil and elements such as
aluminum. Paper, cans, glass and most plastics are recyclable, check for the
three-arrow recycle logo on a product to find out if it is recyclable or not.
Of course, don't forget "recycling" your kitchen waste by composting it!
Another way in which you can support the reduce-reuse-recycle regime is
to buy recyclable products/packaging and to buy already recycled
products/packaging where possible.
REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE
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Some numbers and extra ideas you may find useful:
- Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled
materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution ,
including CO2, that would result if the product came from virgin materials.
- Recycling a stack of newspapers only 4 feet high will
save a good-sized tree .
- If each home in South Africa recycled 50% of its output, South
Africa's annual CO2 emissions would drop by six million tons .
- The energy saved by recycling a single drinks can is
enough to run a TV set for three hours .
- Twenty-seven million trees a year are destroyed
to support our kitchen paper towel addiction.
- An estimated 4 million tons (34 pounds per person) of
paper junk mail are sent each year in the U.S. and nearly half of it is
never opened. If 100,000 people stopped their junk mail, we could save up to
150,000 trees each year.
- Make your office greener by making double sided
copies, sending office memos over e-mail and shredding waste paper for packing
material.
- Every year, the U.S.A. throw away 2 billion
disposable razors and blades and we could circle the planet from end to end with
the amount of disposable cameras used yearly. Buy reusable items rather than
single-use products.
- Every month, the U.S.A. throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our
entire commercial air fleet. Recycled, that aluminum would be worth $600
million by year's end.
- There are 63 million newspapers printed each day in the U.S.A.;
44 million, or about 69 percent, of these will be thrown away. Recycling
just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.
- Californians Against Waste (cawrecycles.org) estimates that
Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually, a considerable contribution to
the 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags used worldwide .
Made from polyethylene, plastic bags are not biodegradable and are making their
way into our oceans and waterways.
- Glass takes more than one million years to decompose; Americans
generate almost 13 million tons of glass waste a year. Glass produced from
recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related
water pollution by 50 percent .
- Envelopes come in huge quantities for free every
day. If you are careful when opening letters, you can use the envelopes again by
simply putting a label over the original address. This saves money and trees,
while reducing waste.
- Businesses in America throw away 21 million tons of paper
every year, 175 pounds per office worker. For a quick and easy way to
halve this, set your printer's default option to print double-sided (duplex
printing). South Africans are also guilty of this wastage.
- Help cut down on the consumption of paper and plastic by
re-using wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, and gift bags . These
items should be good for at least one more wrapping. If you are feeling
creative, use old calendars, pages from magazines, or even newspaper to wrap
gifts.
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