Recycling Disinfecting-bins

South African households produced about 30.5 million tons of waste, of which only 19% was collected for Recycling. This recycling rate is quite low when compared to some EU countries that achieved rates of up to 50%. There is a significant amount of waste which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites. Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment.

 

  • Up to 80% of dustbin rubbish can be recycled
  • Unreleased energy in average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours
  • On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for packaging, which ends up in the rubbish
  • As much as 50% of average waste in the dustbin could be composted
  • Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled
  • 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier

 

Most common products that end up in landfill sites:

 

Aluminium

  • R432,000,000 worth of aluminium is thrown away each yearBin-image
  • Aluminium Cans can be recycled and ready to use in 6 weeks

 

Glass

  • Each SA family averages 1000 glass bottles and jars annually
  • Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again
  • Glass that ends up in landfills will never decompose

 

Paper

  • It takes 24 trees to make 1ton of newspaper
  • Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than that made from raw materials

 

Plastic

  • Most families throw away about 40kg of plastic per year, which could otherwise be recycled
  • The use of plastic in Africa is growing about 16% each year
  • Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose