Why we should take recycling organic waste more seriously
Recycling. Yes we have all heard about it a thousand times and read about it numerous times but perhaps we don’t understand the necessity of recycling.
We’ve tried it and it is super easy and actually you’ll be surprised at how effortlessly it becomes habitual. We were also fortunate enough to chat with Melanie Ludwig from The Organics Recycling Association of South Africa (ORASA) who gave us some easy tips to make this chore a super easy task.
We need to rethink waste
Melanie says that In the Western Cape more than 40% of all waste delivered to landfills is organic waste – including food, paper, wood, fat, abattoir, industrial wastes and compostable packaging.
Moreover, the Western Cape landfill ban on organic waste is coming into effect requiring households and businesses to reduce their organic waste sent to landfill by 50%, with a full 100% organics reduction by 2027. With this in mind, we all need to re-think ways to curb our waste issue.
What's the point
- 1. Organics recycling has the power to significantly reduce the rate of climate change.
- 2. Households can easily practice home composting to produce compost that can be used in their own gardens.
- 3. Ensure sustainability by composting at community gardens, which can grow wholesome food for less fortunate communities.
- 4. Businesses (like hotels) can contract waste companies to collect source separated organic waste and process it into compost.
Melanie is extremely passionate about this topic and believes we can all do small, simple things to make a massive impact on the environment.
Composting is easy, we recommend starting with a tub on your kitchen counter that you fill with all fruit and vegetable scrappings. You can then pour it all over your garden and soil and voila.
