We all keep harping on about saving the planet. Perhaps the focus should now turn to the simple concept of just stopping to mess it up.
We all keep harping on about saving the planet. Perhaps the focus should now turn to the simple concept of just stopping to mess it up.
And yes, in our neck of the woods, while champions of the Kowie Catchment Campaign – a community based environmental group – have organised a number of clean-ups over the years, this only treats the symptoms. To make a difference, we need to tackle the cause – our own actions!
Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Our current modern lifestyle is wholly unsupportable by the planet. We take more than what we need, and give little thought to what happens to our waste.
We must rethink the way we live and the consequences of our actions. The eternal irony of plastic for example is that something we normally use for just a few minutes is made to last a thousand years – with the power to adversely affect your children’s children’s children from today.
It’s a huge burden to shoulder and if we all rethink our use of these materials and make a point of voting with our pockets, perhaps the packaging industry will take note.
Our perennial need for stuff has made us as consumers on the brink of consuming ourselves. How much is enough? What is want, and what is actual need? Do you really need that packet for two little items?
Is it worthwhile buying a cheap DVD player every two years as opposed to saving up for a really good one?
We have become a society of chuckers – often not considering the possibility of using things again.
Nine times out of ten, you can! Large yoghurt containers for example make for great storage of last night’s leftovers and perfect for taking soup to work.
Rechargeable batteries last far longer and are reusable for years. Is it that much trouble to take the time to charge them, as opposed to the pure convenience of disposables whose charge lasts much less and whose disposal pollutes land and water.
And when we do throw away, remember that bottles, tins, glass, paper, cardboard, all plastic and polystyrene are recyclable- and in Grahamstown can now be put together into orange and see-through dustbin bags for normal waste collection- from which it’s taken to the Masihlule Project who sort it and sell it by weight to various recycling companies.
Help spread the word. Remind your neighbours to put all their recyclable waste into clear bags or orange on waste collection day.
More info contact Angie Thomson on 046 636 1201 or Johan Esterhuizen 046 603 6141 / 082 733 4040.
