Creating new value chain
Recycling results in employment, sources of income
RECYCLING makes a bigger difference than you think.
In South Africa, 334 727 tons of waste was recycled into raw material last year.
Rory Murray, marketing director at recycling centre Tuffy Brands, said: “The immediate effect on the environment is that pollution is reduced, but in South Africa there is also the critically positive result of job creation.”
Murray urged everyone to begin thinking differently about plastic, because re-using it could create an entirely new value chain.
An estimated 5 840 formal recycling jobs were sustained last year as a result of actively recycling plastic. Approximately 52 300 workers received an income as a result – this included self-employed waste pickers and the employees of smaller entrepreneurial waste collectors.
“In South Africa we currently have an input recycling rate of 43.7% for all plastics, which shows that the largest percentage of plastics is not recycled,” said Murray. “There is definitely scope for improvement, and the more consumers recycle, the more value will be added on an economic and environmental level.”
Murray said that understanding the symbols on plastic recyclable items would make it easier for consumers, waste pickers and sorters to recycle. The international plastic coding system is used by responsible suppliers to indicate the recyclability of products.
Consumers should look out for a triangle or triangular loop with a number from one to seven, which indicates the item’s composition.
Plastic one is polyethylene terephthalate ethylene (PET), said to be the most used plastic today. It is a lightweight plastic used to create soft drink and water bottles, salad dressing and peanut butter containers as well as ovenable food trays, and additionally, could be remade into polar fleece and carpet.
Two is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and is more durable than PET.
HDPE is often used for everyday household items such as butter and yoghurt containers. HDPE can be recycled to make strong plastic items such as pipes, fences and benches.
Plastic three is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is usually used for pipes and gumboots. PVC could be remade into mud-flaps, panels and mats.
Plastic four is low-density polyethylene, which is used for clothing and furniture, and also for plastic bags, due to its flexibility and resilience. It could be re-used for the production of cans and floor tiles.
Plastic five is polypropylene (PP), which is often used for bottle tops as well as metalised items such as sweet wrappers. Consumers can expect PP to return in the form of rakes, trays and brooms.
Plastic six is polystyrene, used for insulation purposes and in foam products such as the common styrofoam.
One could find it in disposable food and drink containers as well as meat trays.
Seven indicates the “other” category, which includes acrylic, nylon and fibre glass.