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The statistics make no bones about it – South Africans are notoriously bad at recycling. And while improving it is not an insurmountable obstacle, we need to be more united in our recycling efforts.

t is no secret that South Africa’s eight

ICategory A metropolitan municipalities all have fewer than 10 years of useful landfill life left. This is due to waste management being one of the least prioritised municipal services in most South African municipalities – significantly lagging housing, water, electricity and road infrastructure.

In recent years, there has been increased coverage about the importance of recycling; however South Africans have not yet adopted the practice in their homes, offices and schools. Statistics show that only 7.5% of South Africans recycle, meaning that roughly 90% of waste produced still ends up in landfills.

With approximately 65% of the waste produced in South Africa being recyclable – meaning that it can be diverted from landfill and successfully beneficiated – focusing on recycling can have major benefits for the industry.

Recycling just one tonne of paper can save up to three cubic metres of landfill space, while one tonne of recycled plastic saves 5 774 kWh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million BTUs of energy, and 23 m3 of landfill space. Knowing that recycling can have a significant impact on landfill space and the overall health of our environment, one must ask: why are we not recycling our waste?

Experts believe recycling education may be the missing link in the chain of green responsibility and sustainable living. Recycling education encourages people to act towards improving their own lives and protecting the environment, by using materials that would otherwise be considered as waste as raw materials. With South African producers now taking financial and operational responsibility for the life cycle of the products they put into the market, through the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations, it has now become even easier to recycle. Various initiatives have been launched at municipal level that make recycling easier. One such initiative is the Langa Organic Waste Diversion Project, which has diverted about 14 tonnes of organic waste from landfills since its inception in November 2021.

Big corporations like Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, in partnership with PET Recycling Company (PETCO), are also ushering in a new generation of eco-champions driving recycling in their communities. In this edition of ReSource, we highlight some of the more notable initiatives that are helping to encourage recycling and better our environment.

We also speak to experts about the remarkable waste-to-energy treatment technologies that convert waste to electricity, heat, fuel or other usable forms of energy.

The main message that has come out of this edition is that recycling is a shared responsibility; rather than squarely placing the responsibility on the public and local government, we must all play our part for a better tomorrow.