We are living the dream – it is a bad dream but we are living it. So much is talked about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and so little is done about it in South Africa. We are ranked 113 out of 162 countries. Smart Waste is just quietly getting on with it, through recycling. Our
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The tsunami which is COVID-19 arrived with little warning, is overwhelming us with its speed and is devastating everything in its path. It is also bigger than we can comprehend. Most importantly it is creating fear and uncertainty. Fear about whether we will live, whether we will have a job, whether we will have enough
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While waiting in a large pharmacy recently I started looking at the packaging on the products. Every one of the estimated 10 000 items was packaged – some in a single material other in up to five materials. This piqued my interest so I took a course in Sustainable Packing through EdX and Delft University.
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The term “disruptor” will very soon displace “passion” as the most overused term in business today. We all know what it means to be passionate about our businesses – boring. Now we aspire to be disruptors. “Disrupt before you are disrupted” is the call. At Smart Waste we are so busy innovating in recycling that
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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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Recycling organic waste is surprisingly easy – recycling non organic items is a whole lot harder. Which just goes to show how complicated we have made our stuff. Organic waste can now be composted in a windrow or anaerobic digester. It can also be used to produce energy in a number of ways and converted
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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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After years of being regarded as the poor cousin of waste disposal recycling is becoming the star. It has to do with the adoption of the circular economy. Instead of throwing things away – the waste disposal option, which is based on the linear economy – we are now starting to reuse them. The recycling
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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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