Editor’s comment

Editor Nombulelo Manyana Managing editor Alastair Currie Head of design Beren Bauermeister Chief sub-editor Tristan Snijders Contributors Willem de Lange, Benita de Wet, Thurman Ezikiel, Lorren Haywood, Mishqah Hussain, Brendon Jewaskiewitz, Logan Moodley, Lerato Molefi, Suzan Oelofse, Garyn Rapson, Hugh Tyrrell, Eckart Zollner

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Publisher Jacques Breytenbach

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Going beyond recycling

We’ve all heard the classic trio: reduce, reuse, recycle. But very few people are aware that there are other steps you must take to reduce your impact on the environment – before ultimately recycling.

ccording to a report released by

Athe UN Environment Programme and the CSIR in 2018, Africa recycles only 4% of the waste it generates. This is a far cry from the African Union’s vision that African cities will be recycling at least 50% of the waste they generate by 2023.

We must start thinking differently about not only where our waste goes but rather what we can do to reduce our environmental footprint. Within the waste hierarchy, there are six principles of sustainability, namely: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.

Not only do these six principles of sustainability force us to think about our waste generation habits but they further the efforts of moving towards a circular economy.

Let’s take a look at these pillars:

Rethink

Do I really need that? According to this principle of sustainability, this is the first question you should be asking yourself. It implores consumers to question and understand that their consumption habits have an impact on the environment – and decide whether they want it to be negative or positive.

Reduce

This might be the most important of the six principles. We need to be reducing the amount of waste we generate by making smarter decisions. The idea is to consume less, so we waste less.

Refuse

This one basically implores consumers to refrain from buying products that are not environmentally friendly and rather buy those that lend themselves to being recycled. With the gazetted extended producer responsibility regulations, this will be an easy consideration.

Reuse

Before throwing it away, repurpose that product in another way. Reinvent it by upcycling it. One of the articles in this issue looks at how the tyre industry is reusing and repurposing waste tyres (see page 26). Always look for alternative ways to use your products.

Repair

Before you recycle, think to yourself: ‘Can I fix this?’ This part asks us to explore the different ways we can expand the shelf life of the product and/or make better use out of whatever we buy.

Recycle

Lastly, if you cannot reuse the product, then recycle it. Practise separation at source and buy recyclable goods. With the regulations government has put in place and continues to implement, consumers have no excuse not to recycle.

We must start thinking beyond simply recycling and rather about implementing sustainable practices within our daily activities.