South Africa's recently introduced carbon tax will ensure zero waste to landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well boost investments for low carbon alternatives, said Bertie Lourens, CEO of Wasteplan — a Cape Town based on-site waste management company. Lourens was speaking at the 2019 SAPICS, The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management, conference held recently … [Read more...]
Waste management bringing sustainability into the mainstream
The PET Recycling Company (Pty) Ltd (PETCO) was proud to play a part in the Better Together Games hosted by Western Cape Government (WCG) on Friday 25 October 2013. The event, hosted at the University of the Western Cape campus, attracted close on 10 000 officials and is one of the most popular and well attended events on the Western Cape Government calendar. This event … [Read more...]
Pretoria households urged to recycle their polystyrene
The Polystyrene Packaging Council of South Africa (PSPC) has made an urgent appeal to households and businesses in the Pretoria region to make sure that they are recycling their polystyrene. According the Polystyrene Packaging Council’s Director, Adri Spangenberg, used and recycled polystyrene find a second life in a wide variety of different products, including picture frames, … [Read more...]
Doing well by doing good
“How do we do well by doing good?” This was the focus of the Green Team event at Spier of our previously local, but now national, leading waste minimisation company, Wasteplan. During these events educational topics of interest are discussed and presented to anyone interested in learning more. Not many people know that the original idea for the Green Times newspaper was born … [Read more...]
Time to Respond to rubbish
Recycling in Pretoria is going from strength to strength. All homes, flats and townhouses are now served by a domestic recycling collection company. Wasteplan took over this service during October from Koten, who has been operating a household recycling program in Pretoria East for the past 3 years. The new programme is called Re:Spond. The aim of this free household … [Read more...]
Oostenberg residents slow to recycle
Some folk are just too 'comfortable' to appreciate a good thing, or do they just not care? The latest roll-out of the City of Cape Town's Think Twice curb side recycling system to the Durbanville area is particularly slow on the uptake. Since August 1st the Oostenburg area joined the Think Twice program with other suburbs to have their clean recyclables collected from … [Read more...]
Separation at source is heart of recycling
'The government has created the New Domestic Waste Collection Standards for municipalities to measure their own waste reduction strategies against, as all municipalities are obliged to organise separation at source,' said Bertie Lourens, MD of Wasteplan, during a chat with Redi Thlabi on Radio 702. Wasteplan is the waste minimisation company servicing 75% of all the greater … [Read more...]
Northern suburbs join curb-side recycling
This month another milestone in the roll out of waste minimisation in our country is reached, when Cape Town's northern suburbs join the Think Twice curb-side recycling initiative to have their domestic recyclables collected and transported to a nearby materials recovery centre. Altogether 38 000 new households from Welgemoed to Kraaifontein, north of the N1, will now … [Read more...]
Super easy waste minimisation for Gauteng
In many areas of the City of Cape Town, recycling is no longer something you wonder how to participate in, where to deliver your waste, or whom to call. Some of us - certainly here in the Helderberg - are lucky to have the most jacked up domestic and industrial waste minimisation system in the country. Our clean recyclables are collected from our homes or businesses once a … [Read more...]
Waste becomes food again as nature teaches
For millions of years all waste served as food for some organisms to live off and thrive. In a circular cycle a leaf dropping off a tree would biodegrade - providing food for micro-organisms, who break the leaf down into its source elements, which would nourish the soil. The tree's roots, or other plants in the area, would absorb these essential nutrients and so the full … [Read more...]
Waste is everyone’s business
An overall strategy addressing waste management would need to consider not only the environmental implications of waste management, but the economic and social implications as well. Importantly, the monies collected and energy spent on recycling should be used specifically for the development of product markets. So said Lutske Newton, the lead drafter of the National … [Read more...]
Waste and soil pair up for health
There is a legend that the world rests on the back of a giant tortoise. And he rests on another tortoise, and another, etc. Its tortoises all the way down. Our country rests on the back of women. Strong, hands-on mothers, with hearts the size of Africa. Today I will tell you about one such woman, and next time another. And another - this story has no end. Nokhaya dreamt … [Read more...]
Dedicated recycling facility for Sea Point
Sea Point now has its own recycling drop off facility too. On 1 December the City of Cape Town's Solid Waste Department opened this new facility at Sea Point Tramway Road. This is the first City drop off site to be 100% dedicated to recycling. Following the resolution of the Mayoral Committee to adopt the City's Integrated Waste Management Policy in 2006, a need for well … [Read more...]
