The other day on Facebook I did a quick status survey about Recycling. I simply asked the question, “Do you Recycle or not?”
I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the responses from people in our home city, Cape Town, naming a whole number of different organisations, from schools (Bergvliet High), to places where you can drop off your recycling (Oasis) to services that come around and pick it up for you (Kool Waste, Clearer Conscience). I also found this article on CapeTownMagazine.com which gives quite a broad spectrum of places in Cape Town that offer these services. By googling recycling in your own province or country it is pretty easy to find out what is available for you.
WHY RECYCLE?
My wife, Val, and I have been dropping ours off every couple of weeks at a place that sorts and recycles for you and it really feels like a great rhythm to work into your week.
Many of my friends who responded to the survey said that the waste that they actually throw away after recycling has been reduced to one plastic bag per week, which boggles the mind in terms of realising how much we actually waste that can be reused.
Recycling has also proven to be one of the primary sources of income for many of the people who live on the streets in my own country, South Africa, and I am constantly amazed at how much cardboard some of these people can balance on an old trolley when you see them heading off to the depot. One way you could invest into the lives of someone else is to build a relationship with someone who collects the cardboard and glass in your street and save yours specifically for them.
MAKE THE CHANGE
I really want to encourage you: If you have not been someone who recycles, do some quick research and make the shift towards handling your rubbish better. In terms of both the planet and the employment that it helps give to other people, there is just no reason for any of us not to be doing it.
Why not run your own quick survey with your friends on social media? Ask who is doing it and what services they use and then challenge your friends who are not recycling to jump on board and get going with it.
If you have children, why not invite them to make recycling invitations and then post them into all the houses on your street, sharing the information with your neighbours and inviting them to be a part of it as well. This can be a great object lesson to young children on how they can be a huge part of looking after our planet.
This really feels like such a small thing we can do that can have the hugest impact.
Why not leave a comment below telling us where you are in your journey of Recycling. When did you start? What service do you use? What difference has it made in your house? And maybe you can share one idea of something you are going to do to help inform others of the importance of it.