Hout Bay Waste Barometer
How much are we throwing away vs.
recycling?
In October 09 we took 6 times as many
truckloads to landfill than to to the recycling
depot ! That’s 675 tons of waste to a
landfill in a neighbouring suburb,
Muizenburg. This excludes waste collected
from industryand illegal dumping. Hout Bay
recycled only 104 tons back into the
manufacturing stream and 176 tons of
compost. Considering most things can be
recycled - this is not a good ratio and
indicates we’re not doing enough to divert
our waste from landfill.We are only 1/6 of
the way to our 2010 goal, of Zero
Recyclable Waste to landfill. If everyone
participates responsibly, we can be the first
suburb in South Africa to achieve this. We
can do this!
Lorem Ipsum Dolor
Why is it important to
hold the possibility of
Zero Waste?
Landfills are generating
44% of greenhouse gas
emission, polluting the
water in aquifers and
transporting waste is both
environmentally and
financially costly. In
NATURE there is NO
waste. All parts are
important, everything is a
resource. Our aim is to
learn from nature!
As a first step to a Zero Waste community –
Hout Bay’s 2010 goal is to not throw
recyclable waste to landfill and recycle it
instead. We are using the approach “each
one teach one” to achieve this goal.
Why do we need to urgently
reduce the amount of waste we
produce and then senselessly
send to landfill each day?
We extract, we produce and we throw
away...our future!
Quite simply, irresponsible consumption
and bad waste management habits cost:
The way we humans, as a species, currently
live is by producing on a grand scale. Before
you take an item off the shelf weighing 1kg,
32kg of waste has already been created.
In order to produce goods and food as we
do, we extract resources from different parts
of the earth and modify environments at
great financial expense to those involved
and at an even greater cost to our planet.
Our methods use a lot of water and fossil
fuels, are driving many species to extinction
and are damaging and polluting habitats to
unrecoverable states.
We then need to produce our goods and
bring our food to market and so we transport
our raw materials and produce to industry for
conversion. The process requires more
clean water and fossil fuels and once again
creates pollution.
Once we no longer require the product or its
packaging and it becomes useless to us, it
takes further resources to remove and dump
our waste. It costs the City (our taxes)
money to transport to and house stinking
masses of waste at landfill sites.
When one mixes organic, inorganic and
hazardous waste materials indiscriminately,
they cannot decompose effectively. At landfill
sites waste cannot break down into its
various components as it would in nature.
The result is the production of harmful and
deadly gasses and groundwater which
leaches into the air and groundwater.
So, the greatest cost of ferocious
consumption and irresponsible waste
management is to our children as we rob
them of a sustainable future on this planet.
Throwing away our resources, as if there will
always be more to be had, is slowly eroding
the health of the ecosystem we live in.
Remember.
Do not put recyclable waste
in a black bin or bag to be
transported at great cost to landfill -
place it in your clear plastic bag for
recycling collection or take to
recycling depot behind the Hout Bay
Police Station. Never put
garden waste in a
black bag or bin.
How do we achieve zero
waste?
By purchasing with waste in
mind. Ask yourself questions
like: Do I really need this item,
and what is the waste footprint
of this purchase? Was it
produced locally and
responsibly and will I be able
to recycle this product and its
package when I am done with
it?
By separating your clean, dry,
flattened non-organic waste
from your compostable waste.
By ensuring that all your
recyclable waste goes to a
materials recovery- or
recycling centre.
By ensuring that your re-
usable goods are re-used.
Take it to: a material recovery
facility; a second hand charity
shop; a church; a school; etc.
By composting all kitchen,
garden and other
compostable waste: create a
compost heap; worm farms
produce wonderful liquid
fertiliser; trench your cooked
food scraps, tissues and food
soiled paper (bokashi bins are
good for storing these type of
scraps before trenching it);
and, if garden refuse is too
bulky to compost on site, take
it too the chipping areas of a
garden refuse drop off site
IS IT POSSIBLE TO
ACHIEVE ZERO
WASTE IN HOUT BAY?
YES
“Our biggest challenge
in this new century is to
take an idea that seems
abstact- sustainable
development- and make
it into a daily reality for
all the world’s people.”
Kofi Annan, UN
Secretary General
March 2001
Owning our waste -
we all generate it!
Waste is bringing us together
Hout Bay Recycling/3Rs won the Jet Community
award of R15 000 in the Western Cape
environmental division. This is a symbol of Hout
Bay people working together.
On 16th December Day of Reconciliation, the
residents of Agget block in Imizamo Yethu are
organising a Cleaning up for Unity..
Zero Recyclable Waste to Landfill by June 2010
Photo of Malmsbury landfill site 2007 superimposed on photo of Hout Bay
taken by Bruce Stephens, local vet and photographer
Who are Hout Bay’s partners
in waste management?
* City of Cape Town Solid Waste Dept
* Breda Coastal Management
* Tedcor Women in Waste
* Hout Bay Recycling
* HB Forestry Station
* HB Roads Department
* Soil & More Reliance
* Wastemart
* Afrowaste
* WastePlan
Partners at the Hout Bay Drop Off and Material Recovery Facility
Hout Bay Recycling and wood and building material recovery
members; City Management Team, Soil & More Reliance;and
volunteer recycling mentor, Security will also always be present on
site but is not in this photo.
Businesses in Hout Bay
with a GREEN STICKER
- meaning: they responsibly
recycle their waste.
Please support them and
encourage the ones who
don’t, to get recycling!
Alpenstube Restaurant
Atlantic Boat Club
Cafe Bristot
Caffein Coffee shop
Casareccio Restaurant
Chapman's Peak Hotel,
Darios Coffee Shop
Deez Mexican Bistro
Deli Delish
Delicious Deliveries
Dunes
Fish on the Bay
Green Living
Harry's Pancakes
Health Path
Hout Bay Fire Station
Hout Bay Laundry
Hout Bay Vetinary hospital
Hout Bay Gallery
Ikhaya Coffee Bar
Kitima Thai restaurant
Kushi Indian Restaurant
La Cuccina
Lookout Deck
Luigi Tratoria
Mariners Warf Restaurant
Office National Hout Bay
Pakalolo
Papinos
Penzance Vetinary clinic
Pirates Restaurant and Bar
Pure Restaurant
Redemption Cafe
Renaissance Cafe
Scarecrows Restaurant
Spar - Victoria Rd
Spiro’s Greek Restaurant
St Elmos
Suikerbossie Restaurant
Sushi Zone
The Thai Café Restaurant
The Workshop Pub
Tobi Travel and coffee shop
Sorting and reusing our
waste saves:
It costs less to transport
recycling material to sorting
centres than to send waste to
landfill sites. Returning used
resources to the production
stream cuts out the costs of
extraction and landfill to our
ecosystem, plus, creates work.
Recycling your waste means
that you are investing in this
planet and in our children’s
future.