The war on waste continues. We win some battles and are still losing others. While there is much more awareness on the part of most societies there is also a lot of misinformation out there. The outcome of the war still hangs in the balance. Awareness on the part of the public is much greater.
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The debate about the use of plastic rages on. News like the recent report of plastic bags being found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench creates worldwide awareness of the problem caused by plastic. Understandably many people want to ban all plastic immediately. It is necessary to hear the other side of the debate
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Orasa is now officially in existence. At an event held at Hotel Verde recently Orasa was formally launched to the organics waste industry, industry players and the public in general. With the first organics ban due to come into effect in 2022 it is just in time to build capacity in the organics industry. Hotel
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The Planetary Health Diet was unveiled last week. Will this feed 10 billion people, save 11 million a year from starvation and do less damage to the planet than we are presently doing? Or, will it be another also ran along with Banting, Atkins and the Mediterranean diets? Diets used to be simple, cut out
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Judging by social media everyone is upset with plastic – especially single use plastic. The new cry is let’s have compostable plastic. But is this a dead end street? Concerned individuals are starting to make their voices heard and are resisting using plastic wherever possible. More consumers are refusing to accept plastic bags at the
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“Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. But I’d like to add a third certainty: trash. And while some in this room might want to discuss reducing taxes, I want to talk about reducing trash.” – Ruth Ann Minner This quotation got me thinking – are death, taxes
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Whilst South Africa’s waste industry is massive in terms of job creation the recycling industry will soon be bigger. A mere twenty years ago there was no recycling industry. Now it appears that, in terms of employment, it will soon be bigger than the waste management industry. Few people are aware of the difference between
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Organic waste is set to be the next big waste stream to be attacked. In its drive to clean up the environment the South African government has targeted organic waste. In addition to agricultural and garden waste this includes abattoir waste, sewerage waste and food waste amongst others. Organic waste is bad because it decomposes
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A lot of us think that fresh vegetables come in little Styrofoam trays and packets from the supermarket, with neatly embossed recycling icons. What we don’t see is how they are produced and there are some things the producers don’t want us to see. Take commercial farming; at most stages of growing a crop the
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We seem to be winning some battles but have we already lost the war? If one believes the pilot of a mini submarine the plastic waste is now lying on the bottom of the ocean. Apart from the environmental damage this is causing, the danger is that nano-plastic particles are now in the food chain.
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