Collect Waste for Recycling

The ECO Group Monthly focus for September is on the recycling of all types of waste and we urge you to either start on a routine or perhaps you are recycling some items, but you can expand on what you recycle.

Where to Start:

The main challenge is to identify a local collection point(s) for a specific items to recycle.  These can be commercial or municipal run collection points.  You may have a reliable curbside pick-up service in your area that you can use.  You can contact recycling companies and ask:

• What do they take?
• Do I need to clean or sort the waste?
• Where can I deliver, or do you collect?
• Do you supply containers or bags?
• Is there a cost involved?

Identify the method that you will use to collect the waste in your home.  Below are some examples:

• Introduce a separate bins in your kitchen to collect frequently generated items such as plastic and paper.
• Have a cardboard box or bin outside for collecting items that you generate less often such as tins, bottles, batteries, light bulbs
• Introduce a small composting container with a lid in the kitchen to collect the kitchen scraps while you are cooking
• If you are doing the ECO Brick, have a small collection point for all types of plastic that can go into the ECO Brick.
• All this will reduce what you will be throwing away to landfill so this general bin can be reduced in size.  Use a biodegradable bag.

In the table below are contact details of recycling companies that may be useful to ask any specific questions.

Waste Type	Contact Details
Address	Telephone
Paper	Mpact Recycling:  126 Richards Drive, Midrand Johannesburg 1685	011 315 8450 O11 538 8600
Nampac Recycling:  103 Barney Simon Road, Newtown, Johannesburg 2113	011 8736545
Glass	The Glass Recycling Company: Block B, 1st Floor La Rocca Office Park, Cnr Pain & Petunia Streets, Bryanston 2128	011 463 5644
Plastics	Plastics Federation of SA:  18 Gizelle Avenue, Corporate Park South, Randjiesfontein, Midrand	011 314 4021
Tin Cans	Collect-a-Can:  12 O’Connor Place, Aeroton, Johannesburg 2001	011 494 3623
Oil	Rose Foundation : Suite A 9 Waverley Court, 7 Kotze Road, Mowbray, CT 7925 Collection points at certain service stations	021 448 7492
PC/DVDs/CDs	JCL Plastics Enterprises:  Cnr Kent & Lea Road, Anderbolt, Boksburg 1459	011 884 3520
e-Waste
Batteries	Fry’s Metal: 152 Osborn Road, Wadeville, Johannesburg 1422	011 827 5413
Scrap Metal	Amalgamated Metal & Recycling SA (Pty) Ltd: 110 4th Street, Booysens Reserve, Johannesburg 2095

Some drop-off places for recycling

Venue / Address	Place / Type of Bins	Type of waste
Ronnie Bins are found all over Johannesburg at:   Sporting VenuesSchoolsChurches		Any form of paper (white or colour) Newspapers / Magazines Old memos / letters / Envelopes Photocopy Paper / office paper Old telephone directories Old school books / old damaged textbooks Junk Mail / catalogues Thin cardboard such as Cereal boxes – flattened Milk & Juice cartons (Tetra Pak – flattened)
Pick ‘n Pay, Woolworths and Macro have drop- off centres		These do vary but mostly:   Smaller items of e-waste ink Cartridges; Small batteries; Compact fluorescent light bulbs
Pick-it-up garden centres.   These are found all around Johannesburg.  The closest ones to Parkview are:   Melrose Estate, Melrose StreetNo 1 Pine Road Orange GroveVictory Park/Greenside; Victory Road		All types of waste are collected at these centres:   Garden waste; Plastics; Glass; scrap metal; tins; paper and cardboard   e-waste Used car oil;
Glass Bins: These are also found at various places around Johannesburg.  The closest ones to Parkview are: Birdhaven Shopping Centre; cnr St Andrews & Wrenrose Str.  Zoo Lake Parking area; Lower Park Drive; ParkviewZoo Lake Moyo Restaurant; Prince of Wales Avenue, St Coluba’s Presbyterian Church; 25 Lurgan Road, Parkview Golf Club; Emmarentia Road		Acceptable glass: Cold drink, juice and water bottles;Beer BottlesAlcohol and liquor bottlesFood and sauce containersClear drinking glass NOT acceptable glass: Mirrors; automotive glass; light bulbs, laboratory glass, crystal; ceramic cups, plates and bottle tops; Clay flower post; window glass; heat resistant ovenware
Compost Bin: For those of us who want to embrace your greener side try making your own compost. You can look forward to the nutrient-rich and budget friendly soil amendment and it will actually reduce taking out the rubbish trips or trips to your garden centre.   Commercial bins are available at the garden centres or you could make your own.  Look on the internet for How to Make Compost:  BBG’s guide to composting		All types of biodegradable garden waste: Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are all outstanding materials to add.   Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. In general, it’s good to keep a mix of green and brown material and keep the compost aerated.
Worm Farm: Worm Farming can be very rewarding and gives a rich fertilizer in the form of work tea.   You can make your own worm bin or buy a worm farm starter kit.  You can buy the compost worms from most nurseries.   There are many videos on the internet showing you how to do it.		Compost worms are surface feeders and prefer to live in organic material or mulch. As the compost worms eat the waste in the bin, they convert it into worm castings that are pushed down through the bin and compressed by the weight of fresh castings above them. Liquid drains down through the bin and passes through a filter housed in the floor, into the drip tray. This liquid is an ideal fertilizer. It is best to dilute the liquid with water before feeding it to plants, as it is very concentrated. A good dilution ratio is 1 part worm liquid to 10 parts water.