The 2017 festive season is well underway, albeit toned down somewhat from its usual excesses due to the current economic climate.
It is, however, still the perfect time to pay greater attention to the way we use the planet’s natural resources.
It is a time where people waste more, whether it’s disposable gift wrap paper, Christmas cards, gift packaging, decorations on walls, through to excessive food and drink consumption.
Reducing your carbon footprint this festive season need not be a daunting task, a recycling boss says.
“With the end of the year looming, many individuals, households and businesses begin to file, archive and clean out cupboards and storerooms to make space for the new year. These efforts often generate large amounts of unwanted paper. Couple this with the extra packaging and wrapping from festive gifts and season celebrations and you have yourself a stack of paper waste,” says managing director of Mpact Recycling, John Hunt.
There is no denying the amount of good that recycling can do for the environment. The holidays present an unmissable opportunity to put such practices into effect. This season does not have to be a time when people waste more.
Refuse needs to be checked for items that can be recycled. So before you even throw that piece of paper into the dustbin, throw it into a separate bag or bin.
“Much of what we call rubbish is actually recyclable. With kerbside collections closing on December 16 and resuming operations on January 5, we recommend visiting Mpact Recycling’s website (www.mpact.com) to locate the nearest paper bank or school where you can donate your recyclables to in the meantime or alternatively wait until early January to put your full Ronnie bags out onto the pavement,” Hunt advises.
Importantly, milk and juice cartons can now be recycled too. This is since Mpact opened its first liquid packaging recycling plant at its Springs paper mill earlier this year. The plant is expected to recycle approximately 25 000 tonnes of liquid packaging products per year.
In addition to getting recyclable items to their nearest school or community paper bank or their nearest buy-back recycling centre, South Africans can consider converting or reusing some of these everyday items, giving them a new purpose this Christmas season.
