Sustainable Home Design - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Disposal

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Disposal

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Separation and Recycling Locations

Paper, cardboard, plastic, tin, food and glass can all be recycled fairly easily in South Africa. Find your local recycling centre, start separating items at home (have different bins or boxes for paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, tin and food), and recycle everything apart from the food. That you can compost. Also start buying things based on whether the packaging can be recycled, and look at items that offer reduced packaging.

Cape Town waste recycling depots http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/Results.aspx?k=Free_Community_Waste_Drop-Off_Facilities_Table_308200716443_482.pdf
Cape Town dumping hotline - 086 010 3089
In addition for PET 2-5 plastics (plastics with 2-5 in the recycling logo, i.e. non clear plastic) in Cape Town, contact Sheryl on 021 424 0479
Also in the Western Cape, there is a paid for service who will collect recyclable items from you
http://home.telkomsa.net/abundanceyoga/page5.html (under their link Recycling Info is a list of what they will take)
South African Recycling sites http://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/Recycling-Index-sp-5.html#CT
Johannesburg waste collection, including electronics http://www.pikitup.co.za
A new service in South Africa that is similar to the above is Just-Junk http://just-junk.co.za/
CFL’s (and normal fluorescent tubes) contain mercury and must not be placed in landfill. They must be disposed of at proper locations. Although the amount of mercury in them is far lower than some other household devices, the accumulation of them results in higher overall levels. Mercury is extremely poisonous and should never get into the ground or groundwater. Unfortunately we do not know of any centers in South Africa.

Compost Bins

Composting waste food further reduces the amount of landfill we generate. Get a composting bin and place it in your garden. There are many around of various designs, and different people seem to have different success with the different models.

Rotating Compost Bins - Craig 083 395 1621
Four sided compost bins (each wall unclips, plus the top opens up) - Sue 021 789 2352
Composting with worm bins and composters http://www.fullcycle.co.za/

Worm Bins

Worms bins are a form of compost bin, but using a particular type of worm and set up to do the composting. The result is an incredibly rich liquid (which drains into a container) and fertiliser for using in the garden. They are however a bit of a work of passion – worms are fussy.

Barbara 021 462 2090
Sue 021 789 2352
Composting with worm bins and composters http://www.fullcycle.co.za/

Donating Things

If you have things that are still usable to you but in good condition, and you can't sell them, give them away. There's a great international system called FreeCycle which operates in SA too – you simply specify what you want to give away, and if anyone wants its, the contact you. It runs via Yahoo Groups, so no personal details get shared unless you want them to be.

Computer and Electronic Equipment

Apple, Dell and HP have great recycling programs – unfortunately some aren't offered here, however they are in various phases of starting local initiatives. I suggest you contact them for updates.
Mustek who sell Mecer have advertised in the press that they have a program, so I would contact them too.
Contact Gerry on 021 712 1694 for information on recycling computers
In the UK the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive of the European Commission became law in the UK on 2nd January - basically a law around electronic waste recycling (laws forcing suppliers of IT equipment to dispose of it free of charge in an environmentally sound manner). This is already having a knock on affect around the world, and at some stage policy in SA will be set to.
http://www.e-waste.org.za/ - refurbishers and recyclers of electronic waste

Recycling Further Reading

According to a BP report (linked to their brilliant new sustainable offices in Cape Town), recycling 1 ton of paper (400 reams) saves 15 trees, 2,5 barrels of oil, 4 132 KWH of electricity), 2,26m3 of landfill space, 31 319 gallons of water and 26,8 kg of air pollutants.

Also according to them, making paper from recycled fibres uses 70 per cent less energy than from virgin fibres.

Should you buy something like a new car?
It takes resources to create one, but what about what the old car is emitting? The manufacturing process consumes about 10% of the overall energy use of a car during its life – the rest is mainly petrol being used. So calculate how much petrol your old car uses, compare that to a new car, and see how many years you'd have to drive the new car to pay back the 10% energy used to make it.