Recycling Day SA will be held on Friday 19 September 2014 during Clean Up SA week and is a good time to consider the many benefits of recycling and re-using. If you are uncertain about what to do with useful items that you no longer need or know can be recycled, here are some ideas to help you get started.

Be organised

Have recycling bins or stations in convenient locations throughout the house, such as the kitchen, study, bathroom or craft room, to collect recyclable items. If you have recycling bins handy, you are also less likely to put these items with the general waste.

Know where local recycling depots are

Identifying local depots allows you to do more frequent drop-offs so the junk does not pile up at home. A good place to start gathering information is your local municipality. Most municipalities have a list of the names, contact numbers and web links for recycling companies on their websites, and also give useful information and tips on recycling.

Support a charity by donating to a charity shop

Most charity shops can make good money selling second-hand books, magazines, furniture, bric-a-brac, white goods, toys and clothing. Check their websites for lists of items they can receive as donations.

Recycle as you shop or fill up

Many of the large supermarket chains have recycling depots on their premises and lately recycling depots have also been appearing at service stations. These depots can receive the usual recyclables such as paper, glass, cans, plastic and cardboard, and some will also receive batteries for recycling.

Organise kerb side pick-up

If you have large quantities of paper, glass or metal, you can contact a private waste company that specialises in recycling of specific materials to do a once-off collecting from your kerb. Some companies also offer weekly or fortnightly kerbside collections; these services use special recycling bins and usually come at a monthly fee.

 

Sources

treevolution.co.za
www.charitysa.co.za
www.choc.org.za
www.collectacan.co.za
www.ecolife.com
www.environment.co.za
www.greensa.co.za
www.open-sky.co.za
www.paperpickup.co.za
www.pikitup.co.za
www.recycling.co.za
www.recyclingday-sa.co.za
www.tshwane.gov.za