50 Ton en ‘n Pofadder

- Ellen Joubert -

Dit is wat die herwinningsprojek sedert verlede Augustus in 18 vragte aan Retain Re-use Recycle in Oudtshoorn gelewer het!

Prince Albert kan met reg trots wees op die herwinningsprojek. In ‘n tydperk van 7 maande is daar net meer as 50 ton herwinbare goedere ingesamel, verpak en weggestuur. ‘n Ton gemengde herwinbares is rofweg gelykstaande aan een kubieke meter in volume. Dit beteken dat die projek ‘n hele 50 kubieke meter spasie in die stortingsterrein gespaar het. Dit is beslis ‘n merkbare bydrae, veral aangesien die stortingsterrein byna vol is.

Die projek se sukses is hoofsaaklik te danke aan die groep mense wat elke dag op die projek werk. Meneer George Vi-sagie met sy span laai op Donderdae die herwinning sakke getrou op en op ander dae hou hulle enige herwinbare materiaal wat hulle teëkom apart vir die projek.

Meneer Josef Delport met Basie Tolken aan sy sy, werk elke week met ‘n span van 4 tydelike werkers wat hulle help om die herwinbare materiaal in te vorder, te sorteer en te verpak. Die tydelike wer-kers word onder andere uit ‘n groep mense aangestel wat nou al ervare sorteerders en verpakkers is.

Die mense met ervaring lei elke week die met geen of minder ervaring op. Op hierdie manier is daar al hoe meer tydelike werkers beskikbaar wat met kundigheid en vaardigheid die projek aanhelp.

Die motivering van hierdie spanne is sommer tasbaar. Waar die projek aanvanklik maar net genoeg materiaal ingesamel het om een maal elke twee weke ‘n vrag weg te stuur, werk die spanne nou so vinnig dat dit eintlik al nodig is om elke week ‘n vrag te laat haal.

Maar daar is ook risiko verbonde aan werk op die projek! Aan die begin van Maart, net mooi met die oplaai van sakke vol herwinbares op die bakkie en sleepwa wat dit na Oudtshoorn vervoer, merk iemand met ‘n uitroep ‘n fris pofadder tussen die sakke op. Die slang het vinnig verdwyn tussen die oorblywende sakke in en daar was geen ander raad as om die sakke een vir een te skuif om te soek na die slang nie.

Elke sak en karton is naderhand weggeskuif en weer teruggepak, maar van pofadder is daar geen teken nie. Iemand merk spottenderwys op dat die slang seker saamgery het Oudtshoorn toe, maar almal dog maar hy het seker stil-stil tussen die bossies in verdwyn. Ons het lekker gelag toe ons hoor dat daar by Retain Reuse Recycle reuse konsternasie was toe die einste pofadder tussen ‘n stapel van ons kartonne ontdek is!

As jy of jou besigheid nog nie deelneem aan die herwinningsprojek nie, kan jy gerus onthou dat dit ‘n maklike manier is om ‘n verskil te maak aan ons eie dorp se vaste afval bestuur en aan die integriteit van die planeet. Sit net op ‘n Donderdag-oggend jou sak vol herwinbare materiaal op die sypaadjie – dis so maklik soos dit!

Die munisipaliteit rapporteer dat die raad die implementering van die beplande terugkoop stelsel goedgekeur het en dat inwoners hulle herwinbares sal kan verkoop aan die projek sodra die munisipaliteit die nodige skale gekoop het. Hou dop vir besonderhede oor hoe hierdie stelsel sal werk.

“Litterbug” takes on a new meaning

- Ailsa Tudhope -

The Grade Four English Home language class at Hoërskool Zwartberg were enthusiastic participants in the litter clean-up campaign held last term. The event coincided with their starting a chapter in their language books about the Wombles, the dangers of pollution and our responsibility for caring for the Earth. One of the activities was to write a description of a Litterbug. When we started chatting about it I was astounded to find that their definition of a litterbug wasn’t someone who drops sweet wrappers but a creature that goes out to clean up litter. Now, there might be those who think I am an irresponsible language teacher who should have taught them the proper definition, but I believe their take on the whole business is marvellous, so they gaily set about drawing and describing their brand of the bug.

This term we invited Imke Maeyer and Ellen Joubert, organisers of the clean-up and recycling projects in Prince Albert, to visit the classroom to see their litterbug pictures and hear them read their descriptions. Imke and Ellen thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were able to provide our young anti-litter campaigners with an update on the recycling project, encouraging them to spread the word and get others involved.

Here are some extracts from their litterbug descriptions:
Louis van der Nests’ litterbug is Nosy: “…he sucks the litter through his nose, his wings are lights so in the night he can put his lights on to see in the dark.” Thomas Gous’ Pinky “…lives under tables and eats every type of litter.” Greeny, created by Germari Steyn, …eats rubbish like paper, bottles and plastic.” Lisa Esterhuizen’s Kinkerdew “…sucks up oil from the sea and gives it to farmers to use in their tractors.” Marjohandi Fourie’s Linky “…picks up rubbish,” and Andrew Steyn’s Taily “… sucks all the pollution up his tail.”

They all listed a hint to help us stop polluting: Use a car that works on bio-diesel, pick up rubbish left in the road, tell the government to make littering illegal, do not throw litter around and recycle everything that can be recycled. Let’s follow their advice and make them as proud of us as I am of them.

Recycling News

- Imke Maeyer and Ellen Nicol -

After many months of anticipation and many mountains to climb, the recycling depot is open!

It is situated at the rubbish dump, constructed out of strong mesh to prevent the wind from blowing things away, and partly under cover. There is a key for the enclosure which is in the hands of the permanent employees at the dump.

At the moment we urge anyone and everyone that is interested to take their recyclable goods to the depot, until the waste management forum and municipality have worked out the exact logistics of collecting from peoples’ homes, and also of handing out of bags.

There are farmers feed bags available, and if you would like to make use of them, they can be collected at 19 Pastorie Street. These bags are sturdy, and can be reused several times.

It will be very helpful if goods are separated at home into glass, plastic, tins and paper. If this is not possible, the staff at the depot can sort your contribution, but they will be able to operate a much more efficient project if they receive mainly sorted material.

Please make sure that everything you recycle is clean - dirty tins or smelly old milk bottles are not recyclable! It is simple to clean these items, just wash them at the very end of your dishwashing, in that way you don't need to use extra water!

The aim is eventually to have various ways of handling the recycling:

1. one is just for interested people to take their own,
2. another is for the litter to be collected from peoples’ homes,
3. yet another is to collect from a central point on a certain day of the week, where people can bring their goods, and get paid (by weight) for their goods,
4. and lastly, we would like to start a system at school where the children bring recyclable goods and get rewarded for their efforts.

Please look out for more information as it becomes available, but in the meantime, let’s make use of the enclosure; the staff has attended a training course in Oudtshoorn and will be able to assist you when you get there!

Opening times at the enclosure are Monday to Friday from 8am until 5pm.

Schools tackle town’s litter

- Imke Maeyer -

Prince Albert Primêr and Hoërskool Zwartberg have joined forces to start what will hopefully be an ongoing process of picking up and sorting litter.

After some valuable lessons taught in play form at both schools by the Patchwork Theatre and a poster competition with the theme of recycling and not littering, the children got into the swing of thinking about our planet, and set forth with great enthusiasm on Friday, 6 June, to try and make a dent in the vast amounts of litter that decorate our town.

250 schoolchildren met at the VGK hall where they had a snack and were briefed on what to do. Our aim was not only to collect litter, but also to separate it.

We divided the children into four main groups; each allocated one area of town to clean up.

They set off with their teachers, a handful of parents and even a couple of volunteers from the community! Each group was accompanied by a bakkie on which to load the bags as they were brought in.
The children were fantastic; they managed to separate the litter with even the smallest participants (Wildekanisland Nursery School) almost getting it right. They spent just over one hour on their mission and collected 4 bakkies full! The loads were driven to the Municipal storage where they now patiently await the building of the new recycling depot.

The teachers and children in the meantime gathered again in the VGK hall for a prize- giving ceremony. Five Grade 1 children picked up the most litter – 23 farmers feed bags full! They won a glorious chocolate cake and an olive tree each.

Due to the generosity of many Prince Alberters, who opened their pockets and also gave of their precious time, this event was a great success and we have money left to continue with the campaign.

The next step in the direction of making a change is to get permission from our respective headmasters to let us do a rubbish round once a month, and to introduce a system at the schools where the children will bring their recyclable litter from home. For every bag they bring, they will earn points which will be converted to stationary prizes.

The feedback has been interesting: not many people can see a difference, but for the children it has made an impact; they are seriously thinking twice about throwing their litter on the ground, because in all probability they are the ones who will have to pick it up! Soon they will hopefully see the long-term benefits but in the meantime, at least, their minds are on the subject!

We would like to thank the following for their support: Anton Joubert of Remote Meter Solutions, PA municipality, Denise Ohlson, Bergwater Vineyards, Marlene and Laurie Knowles, Koggelmander, Rudi Maeyer, Weltevreden fig farm, Dorrien Tissiman, Karoo Slaghuis, Ria Steyn, Charles Roux, Lazy Lizard, Gay’s Dair,Essie Esterhuizen, Lorna Verran, Renu-Karoo, Mavis Aggett, Seeff Properties, Andrea Badenhorst, Di and Jeremy Freemantle, P A Tourism, Pam Golding Properties, Laetitia Van Dyk, Pam Wessels, P A Gallery, , Prins-Kem Pharmacy,Fransie Pienaar Musuem Sandy Bower, Helene Smit, Mark Steyn, Jeff Armoed and Café Albert.

Recycling Gets Go Ahead

- Ellen Nicol -

The Council has just given the go ahead for the proposed recycling project. It has been confirmed that an enclosure is soon to be constructed by the Municipality at the solid waste disposal site. Once completed, Prince Albert will be on the road to going greener.

The Municipality says that residents will be advised of the commencement date of the project, whilst a team of volunteers will visit as many households as possible to inform residents of the items that can be recycled and to encourage householders to take part in the project.

How it will work

The Municipality will give each householder a sturdy bag in which to put all recyclable material. This recycle refuse bag is to be put out for collection together with the usual black refuse bags on collection days and will be picked up by the Municipal refuse workers. When a refuse bag is taken away to be emptied, the municipality workers will replace it with another for the householder to fill for next collection.

The recycle bags will be emptied in the special enclosure at the Municipal solid waste site. Once the enclosure is almost full, the recyclable material will be sorted and the Municipality will be able to determine the volume and value of the material that will then be removed and sold to defray expenses.

Why should we recycle?

Because a crisis is staring us in the eyes!

Statistics show that there is a 7% annual growth in waste generation in South Africa. In the Western Cape there is on average less than five years’ worth of available space left to dump rubbish. Prince Albert is no exception. Our solid waste disposal site is nearly full and the Municipality has had to apply for permission to raise the site by two metres in the immediate future and a further two metres after that. The next step would be to open a new site. This is a costly process and locks up land unnecessarily. Astonishing as it sounds, by recycling and composting organic material, a household can reduce the waste sent to landfill by between 60 and 80%.

A lot that we bring into our homes ends up as rubbish. A waste characterization study performed for the Western Cape shows that 65% of waste generated by households is packaging, like plastic shopping bags, cardboard and paper covering for postal packages or plastic film put around perishables.

Although these have almost no use to us, they do have some value. Firstly, it costs to make these materials – energy and natural resources have to be used in their manufacture. And if we recycle and sell the material, it has value again. Not only does it have monetary value; it also saves the energy and resources that would have been used to produce it.

Some examples of what can be recycled

Paper and cardboard:
Magazines, newspaper, packaging, boxes

Clean, dry, unbroken glass:
Empty food jars, beverage bottles such as wine bottles, or other non-returnable bottles. No broken glass, light bulbs or fluorescent lights.

Cans and scrap metal:
Scrap metal, beverage cans, food tins, aerosol cans, oil cans and paint tins. All beverage, oil and paint tins must be empty and food tins rinsed out and dried.

Plastic:
Plastic containers used previously for cooldrink, water, food, cleaning agents etc., plastic bags, plastic film used for packaging of food. All need to be clean and dry.

It is generally accepted that recycling has very significant benefits:

• It reduces the need for natural resources for manufacture of new items;
• The environmental impact of landfill sites is reduced as these sites need not be so large and only contain non-recyclable refuse.
• It helps with job creation – Prince Albert Municipality will initially employ two additional workers to help with the project. Once the project proves feasible, an entrepreneur may be able to take it forward, employing even more people.
• Because manufacturing processes for new materials are reduced, so carbon dioxide (green house gas) and other types of air pollution are similarly decreased
• Energy use is reduced – less energy is needed to recycle than to make something completely new;
• It reduces litter because it gives waste a value.

How to immediately reduce the impact of waste on the environment

• Try to buy items with less packaging, or leave the packaging material at the check out counter and only take the items.
• Put all recyclable items aside and keep them for when the recycling project is up and running. If you are able to, take your recyclable items to the recycling depot in Oudtshoorn (Retain, Reuse, Recycle next to Olea Olives in the Oudtshoorn industrial area);
• Think carefully before you put something in your ordinary refuse – can you reduce its size to save space in the landfill? You can for instance flatten the boxes in which fruit juice or long life milk is bought. You can start a compost heap to deal with organic waste;
• If you have electronic or toxic waste such as old computers or used batteries keep them until the recycling project is able to deliver them to specialist recyclers in Cape Town where they can be dealt with responsibly.

Prince Albert Schools Tackle Town’s Litter

-Imke Maeyer-

On Friday, 6 June 2008 the grades 1 to 6 children of Hoërskool Zwartberg and the grade 3 learners of Prince Albert Primêr will move through areas of our town where litter is a problem. They will clean up and sort the rubbish in support of the recycling project which will be up and running very soon.

The project is a collaborative effort between the two schools and the Prince Albert Solid Waste Management Forum and is the start of a campaign to raise awareness about issues of waste management. The schools would like to do similar and ongoing projects of this nature if the campaign is successful.

The project has a number of aims:
· Cleaning our town and making it a better place for all to live.
· Increasing awareness of our success in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism’s Cleanest Town competition – in 2007 we won the prize for most improved town!
· Raising awareness of school children and adults about littering and recycling.

The rubbish pick up will be preceded by a poster competition and a play by the Patchwork Theatre about pollution and waste. The play will be performed for all the classes from grade 1 to 6 in both schools. The Matric science learners will give a talk to the older children about global warming.

The children in the pick-up campaign will receive a healthy, filling snack to motivate them and give them strength on their mission. To encourage participation, there will be prizes for the biggest collectors, most enthusiastic collectors, etc.

Teachers will accompany the children. As 250 children will participate on the day, if anybody would like to join us to collect litter or assist in supervising the children, or in any other way, we would be MOST grateful and who knows, there might be a prize in store for you too!

If you have any advice, or if you feel you can assist in any small or even big way, please contact Imke Maeyer at 023 5411 184 or Ellen Nicol at 023 5411953 for further information.

Schools Lead the Way to a Cleaner Town

- Imke Maeyer -

Wherever we turn these days, we are faced with crime, upheaval in politics, global warming and poverty. These are vast and varied topics, but somehow they are all linked and affect every living being on our planet.

One small way in which we can contribute towards a healthier environment is by getting rid of the vast amount of litter that lies around our town. And how do we do that? We need to pick it up. But where to from here? If we take all our litter to the dump it will get burned, NOT what our environment needs!

Two schools in our village, Hoërskool Zwartberg and Prince Albert Primêr, have decided to take action and help our town to start looking and feeling better. As a kick-off to the new recycling program that is in the process of negotiation with the Municipality, the schools are going to have a Litter Pick Up Day at the beginning of June 2008.

The aim is for the children (and any other interested parties) to pick up litter in designated areas of the town, take it to a central point and there divide the litter into recyclable and non-recyclable piles. The recyclable litter will then be taken to the Oudtshoorn recycling yard. It is astounding how much of our litter is recyclable or better still, reusable. The bags we will use to collect the litter are feed bags donated by farmers who might otherwise have had to burn them! (Yes, please, we need more bags.)

The school curriculum has changed tremendously and reusing and recycling is starting to be accepted by children all over the country. Our teachers are enthusiastic about this new curriculum and are getting involved with our project.

To help raise awareness, the Patchwork Theatre will be doing performances with a focus on litter, recycling and saving our planet in various venues around Prince Albert. They will target everybody, not only children (watch this space for details).

As everybody is well aware, all schools in South Africa struggle financially, and therefore our schools are going to use this opportunity to raise some funds. It will work on the same principles as a Big Walk (people sponsor every bag of litter collected). There will be prizes for the most successful, enthusiastic teams or individuals.

After the initial Pick Up Day, we hope to start a collection system where the children will bring recyclable litter from home (NOT the rubbish dump) to school. This will earn them points which they can then exchange for useful items such as school stationery.

Why is litter such a problem? It affects our planet and all of us in many ways. But, it is closest to home that it creates squalor; when we live surrounded by litter, how can we feel any pride or pleasure in our surroundings?

Children walk barefoot in our warm climate and constantly run the risk of being cut by glass. By clearing litter, there might follow a sense of pride and with that, an inspiration to do something with a recently-cleared space: raising funds for a playground, or planting a vegetable garden or tree. The possibilities are endless, and we can only hope that at least a fraction of our ideas become reality.

As well as clearing up the town and learning about recycling and not littering, the aim is to have a fun day out! More details will follow in the next edition of the Prince Albert Friend.

Anybody that is interested in assisting in a hands-on fashion or financially (e.g. sponsorships) should contact:
Imke Maeyer on 023 5411184.