{"id":46715,"date":"2022-08-25T13:05:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T11:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/what-your-waste-reveals-about-you-20220824\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T12:34:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:34:32","slug":"what-your-waste-reveals-about-you-20220824","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/what-your-waste-reveals-about-you-20220824\/","title":{"rendered":"What your waste reveals about you \u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever thought about it that your waste could reveal certain aspects of your character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among others whether you recycle, respect food, donate used clothes and shoes to the less fortunate and whether you have a compost heap?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you dispose of your refuse, can also reveal a lot about your character: whether you respect the neighbourhood or whether you\u2019re a selfish dumper, reckless polluter or an environmental destroyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole is drowning in rubbish, one could say there are bad \u201cwaste characters\u201d living among us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true that it is any municipality\u2019s core function to collect waste and dispose of it at a landfill site, but this is not the magic wand that will make the Metro\u2019s enormous refuse problem disappear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People\u2019s habits need to change<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLandfill sites are reaching their end of life, as they are filling up quickly,\u201d warns Melinda Labuscagne of the municipality\u2019s Waste Management Department and resident of Kariega. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWaste disposal should be the last option. We must first look at how we can reduce, re-use, recycle or treat waste prior to disposal of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why waste characterisation?<\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting any resident to rather recycle than to throw away, is easier said than done. The government took this into account, and recommended waste characterisation studies as step one in the process,\u201d said Melinda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe NEMWA requires municipalities to develop an Integrated Waste Management Plan every five years and do a waste characterisation survey to establish the waste streams within a municipal area to guide them on recycling and treatment methods when planning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality\u2019s Waste Management Department undertook their waste characterisation study, using the Western Cape Government guideline documents as a national guideline document does not exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was done by taking samples from domestic waste (household waste) collected during the weekly waste service, Melinda explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProperties were categorised into the three consumer groupings of high, middle- and low-income. A random 5% sample was then selected from each identified area. Sampling is necessary because the study of an entire population would be too expensive or physically impossible to conduct, as in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSamples from each area were collected on their normal day of placing out refuse. All bags collected on that day were then taken to central point, where a team of seven sorters go through the bags and then sorted into 10 categories and then further subdivide them into 27 subclasses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"An

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An e-waste drop off will be held at the NGK Uitenhage Oos church bazaar, 40 Frere Crescent, Kariega, on Saturday, 3 September from 08:00 to 14:00. E-waste is electronic devices which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal. It includes devices like computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, fax machines and any other unwanted everyday electronic devices. <\/div>\n
<\/span>Photo: Supplied<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A few of the findings<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recyclables (paper, cardboard, metal, glass and plastics) were found to make up approximately 29% of the total domestic waste stream<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organics constituted on average 36% of the total waste collected in the three areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardboard and paper constituted 10.5% of the total weight in the waste sample. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The glass fraction was significantly higher in the high-end consumer area with 13% of the waste stream from that area made-up by glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more affluent socio-economic area generates the most waste on average per household in all waste categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe results indicated that in the high-income area the average weight generated by each household was 20,4 kg, in the medium income group 14,3 kg and in the low-income group it was 8,6 kg per household,\u201d said Melinda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe results revealed that on average, a high-income area would yield 37% recyclable waste vs 28% in medium income and 25% in low-income group, therefor its more viable to implement recycling initiatives in the high to medium income group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food waste<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One item that stood out during the waste characterisation survey was the amount of food waste found in the waste bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of that food waste was in such a condition that someone else could have still consumed it if it was not disposed with the general waste. It was shocking,\u201d said Melinda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need to change this type of behaviour, as well as the need to let less refuse end up in the almost full landfill sites, resulted in the municipality\u2019s Source Separation Recycling Project which was launched in Westering in September last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe encouraged the participating households to recycle by separating waste accordingly to different categories in their own homes. Waste recycling is one of the pillars of waste management within the metropole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But didn\u2019t this recycling initiative serve as a very strong magnet for the bag scratchers and the waste pickers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur operational team did a survey to determine if the people going through the refuse bags were informal recyclers or people that was looking for food or other valuable items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was found that only a few of them remove aluminium cans or glass bottles that have a deposit value. Most of the people indicated that they remove food, clothes, or other items of value to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melinda said it is nothing but a kind human gesture to place any surplus or leftover food, as well as clothes or items of value, in a separate bag and place it out with the weekly refuse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will prevent the black bags from being ripped open by the back scratchers or waste pickers and is a more dignified way for the person looking for food. I have been doing this for years and it works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n