While the festive season is a time of giving, more consumerism could lead to more waste. This is according to the City of Cape Town, which has called on residents and businesses to curb their waste from holiday shopping this festive season.
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Alderman Grant Twigg, Mayco member for urban waste management, says a large amount of everything bought during the period will likely end up in a landfill.
‘Waste minimisation is a very important part of building a sustainable city. Our landfills are quickly running out of space as we throw away more and more items.’
‘Society needs to change the way we think about waste – from production to consumption. Consumers need to look at buying products with recyclable packaging and making the most of them before considering tossing them out. Manufacturers need to be challenged to reduce packaging waste and [create] products that will last. It’s about designing waste out of our economy.’
The City provides these tips to help residents recycle:
- Keep an eye out for on-pack recycling logos which indicate whether the packaging is recyclable. Not to be confused with material ID codes, which indicate the type of packaging with a numerical code.
- If a recycling logo is not visible, inspect the material ID codes. Packaging made from type three or seven should be avoided if possible, as these are not usually recyclable. Your local recycling collector should be able to advise further.
- Flatten cardboard boxes to save space when sorting these for recycling.
Store paper and cardboard inside to avoid it getting wet. Wet cardboard can cause issues for recycling systems. - If your recyclables are not collected, you can take them to municipal drop-off sites or private buy-back centres. Visit the City’s waste recycler’s map for a list of private recycling initiatives. For more information on municipal drop-off sites, visit this link.
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The City also advises on the handling of electronic waste by:
- Returning broken or old phones to cell phone outlets throughout the city, where possible.
- Upgrading, repairing or reconditioning appliances where possible.
- Taking old appliances/computers to a City drop-off site for potential re-use or refurbishment where possible.
- Donating older but functional appliances to a school or charity.
- Check if your retailer takes back broken electronic devices or batteries, then bring yours in if you can, rather than throwing them away.
‘We urge residents to challenge retailers about their plastic and other non-recyclable packaging, or if items are over-packaged. You have enormous power to effect change through where you spend your money,’ says Twigg.
‘One of the key tools to reduce waste is the circular economy. Instead of using and discarding products, the City and residents now need to come together to keep goods and materials in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them, and then repairing and repurposing [them] when they break.’
‘It is only by working together that we’ll be able to keep the City clean and create a sustainable environment for us to live in.’
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Picture: City of Cape Town / Facebook
