Which industry costs US$ 500 billion in value per annum and produces more greenhouse gas in its production than all international flights and maritime trade combined? The answer is the textile industry. We shouldn’t be surprised – but most people are. The clothes we wear do not seem to be such bad polluters and besides
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Billed as the biggest one-day civic action in human history the organizers expect millions of people in 180 countries to participate each year. 19 September was 2020’s World Clean Up Day. It certainly draws attention to our environment and clears mountains of refuse. But is it enough? To be effective in cleaning up the world
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At the end of June the Minister of Environment Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), Ms Barbara Creecy published, for comment, draft regulations for extended producer responsibility. After a long delay and some government mis-steps are we on the right track, at last? The principle of extended producer responsibility forms part of our main waste act. It
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When asked where do the chicken pieces come from most people will point to a supermarket shelf. Very few consider the steps beforehand, hatching the chick, growing and slaughtering it. Then getting it weighed, cut into pieces, packed and put on the shelf. Even fewer people think about what happens when the chicken passes its
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For all the bad that the coronavirus has and is doing it is also doing some good. COVID-19 has brought our lifestyle choices into sharp relief. And given us the time to think about them. Are these random events or the result of unintended consequences? There are odd glimpses of our world from a variety
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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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Smart Waste’s plan for the continuation of our services during the corona outbreak is set out below. General Waste We are classified as an essential service because the failure to remove general waste would quickly result in an outbreak of disease. We will therefore continue to remove general waste in accordance with the contract. Our
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How can you find the right recycling service? Which recycling service is reputable? Who do you trust with your recycling needs? It is trite that recyclers provide a service. In the absence of an industry watchdog there is, no uniform standard as to what recycling service should be provided or even the minimum standards that
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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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