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 their pavements. This privilege, which many in this country are paying money for to enjoy, is now a free service to residents in this area. There is just no easier way to drop your waste footprint and contribute to a more sustainable planet.

All it takes is to simply rinse very dirty containers and deposit them altogether in a Recycle bin. No sorting needed; this is done at the MRF (materials recovery facility) in Kraaifontein Industrial. Mixed recyclables are placed in a special recycle bin on the pavement on the day AFTER normal waste collection. Green Times reported on the launch of this event here.

Mere 30% are participating

In all the other areas where Wasteplan, the waste minimisation company who is contracted to the City, has provided this service over the past few years, they enjoyed a 70% participation rate from day one. But in Durbanville, they are sitting with a mere 30% participation. See the stats on this page.

Well resourced areas generate large volumes of recyclable waste. Richer consumers bring home more packaging, as they can afford to pay the premium for it. They are indeed the real culprits in the war on waste - the main targets for the recycling industry.

I asked Tina Krynauw from Wasteplan what had happened here. ‘Firstly, we were not given enough time to run a proper awareness campaign for the bin collection, hence the slow kick off,’ she said. ‘So we got permission to distribute the usual clear bags which we use for this purpose in other areas. This is just a temporary arrangement, until all residents have collected their special recycling bin - then the bag system will stop. Recycle bins can be obtained from 3 municipal offices free of charge. All residents need is an application form, proof of address, and a bar-coded ID. Yet we find it is going slowly.’

Busy moms driving kids

It seems the moms are too busy driving their kids around during the afternoons to swing past the collections point and pick up a bin. This is in fact what some have told Wasteplan.

‘We are trying to arrange a more convenient way for residents to collect their bins,’ said Tina.

Bins are available from the following walk in centres between 2 and 6 pm only.

1. Bloemhof centre in Bloemhof road, Belville
2. Kraaifontein at the Brighton road municipal offices
3. Durbanville at the corner of Oxford and Queen Streets.

‘This is a pilot project, and the success thereof will greatly influence the roll out to other areas, and eventually the whole of the Peninsula. It is the responsibility of residents of Cape Town to take ownership of their waste minimisation, in order to leave a heritage for their children.’

Residents from this area are welcome to write to us with their view of the situation. From our side this is an urgent request to cooperate in the interest of the environment. Minimising your waste by recycling saves vast amounts of energy and water, not to mention the landfill space.

More information is available from www.wasteplan.co.za and there’s a toll free call centre at 086 111 6699 for any recycling queries.