What can I do?

Get involved and get wastewise

Learn Your 3Rs
What are the 3Rs?

• Reduce = reduce the amount of waste we produce in the first place by consuming less "stuff", especially that which adds to the waste stream, and avoiding using products that harm the environment.
  
• Reuse = give used items a longer life by finding as many uses for them as possible before discarding them.
  
• Recycle = deposit items that you can't find further use for at a recycling site, so that they can be converted into a suitable form for reuse.

• Less waste ends up in rapidly filling landfills.
  
• Less waste ends up as litter and illegally dumped material.
  
• When we consume less, the need for new raw materials is decreased. This helps conserve natural resources and protect the environment from destructive processes such as mining.
  
• Reduced pollution associated with manufacture of products.
  
• Saving money on clean-up costs and energy consumption. The 3Rs can also save money for you and your business.
  
• Reducing the amount of hazardous constituents in goods can reduce potential pollution problems at landfills and incinerators when these items are discarded.
  
• Potential job creation. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, if half of the 25.5 million tons of durable goods discarded in the U.S. were reused, more than 110 000 new jobs could be created.
  

How to practise the 3Rs

• Avoid over-packaged products e.g. plastic-wrapped vegetables on polystyrene trays.
  
• Buy in bulk - this gives you more product and less packaging.
  
• Choose returnable or reusable containers.
  Buy refills and concentrates - these usually involve less packaging.
  
• Choose durable articles that will last, rather than products that will soon need replacing.
  
• Choose products with recycled content (this information is usually on the label), or that can be easily recycled.
  
• Buy local produce - it requires less packaging to keep fresh (and less energy for transportation).
  
• Try to buy only what you need, and consider cutting down on unnecessary luxuries! Each item purchased undergoes some form of processing, transportation and packaging - all of which use resources and produce waste.
  
• Choose less heavily processed products (e.g. fresh fruit instead of canned). These have used up fewer resources and produced less waste.

• Reuse a product as many times as possible. If you have no further use for it, find someone who does. ONE PERSON'S TRASH IS ANOTHER PERSON'S TREASURE:
  
• Many charities welcome donations of unwanted gifts, clothes, furniture, toys and books.
  
• Schools can use many "waste" items for art projects e.g. cardboard toilet roll cores, boxes, jars, margarine tubs and scrap paper.
  
• Repair broken items, or pay someone to repair them, rather than just discarding them.
  
• Make your own gifts and gift wrap instead of always buying new items.
  
• Return glass bottles with deposits to shops for reuse.

• Separate waste at home into organic waste, plastic, glass, tin cans and paper. All these can be recycled into suitable forms for reuse.
  
• To find out about recycling programmes operating in your area, contact The Fairest Cape (Tel: 021 462 2060).
  
• Start a garden compost heap. Organic kitchen and garden waste can be added to the compost heap, or used to feed pets or birds.
  
• Used motor oil can be handed in for recycling at your local garage.
  
• If you feel you don't have the time or inclination to do your own recycling, arrange to give your recyclable waste to one of the many informal waste collectors who depend on recycling for their livelihood.