Did you know, South Africans generate roughly 54 million tons of general waste per year, and only around 10% gets recycled. Recycling is a proactive way to turn waste into jobs, care for our environment and create thriving communities. Much of your household waste still has value and can be reintroduced into the economy if given the chance.
“Many people face a wall when it comes to starting recycling, because it’s inconvenient,” says SST Events Coordinator Lauren Jonas. “We want to show our audience today how easy and practical it is to start recycling.”
On 30 September 2020, Sustainable Seas Trust talked to Laura Henderson, Founder and Social Entrepreneur at Greencycle, and Emmy Nxayeka, School Project Coordinator at The Waste Trade Company, to explore the art of recycling at home, school and work in the third webcast of the Master Class series, Achieving Zero-Waste Living.
In the webcast, Laura discusses what Greencycle recycles, and how much of the waste sent to the recycling facility can be recycled. She also mentioned how people can make eco-friendly choices when shopping and how easy it is to separate waste for recycling.
Laura also discussed an interesting finding – recycling has increased during South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown period. “We’ve seen a huge increase in recycling over lockdown. I think people had more time to do things such as separating their waste for recycling and became aware of how easy it is. It’s great to see the will is there.”
Emmy discusses how schools and non-profits can get involved in the Waste Trade Company, where people can drop off their waste for recycling and what misconceptions they experience in the Waste sector.
Greencycle is a recycling collection service that was co-founded by Laura Henderson and Louise Simpson in 2008. The Waste Trade Company is a recycling business with social and educational initiatives that was established in 1998 in Nelson Mandela Bay.
If you missed our live webcast, watch the video below to hear Laura and Emmy’s discussion on The Art of Recycling at Home, School and Work:
