Picture: HISIMP
Jan Palm, President of the IWMSA says the festive season is major time for waste generation as we produce a lot of waste from packaging, old decorations, unwanted gifts and far too much food.
“Unfortunately, Southern Africa is running out of landfill airspace and so we all have a responsibility to be waste-wise by correctly sorting and disposing of our waste. You can be waste-wise this festive season by considering alternative ways to dispose of unwanted gifts and food.”
The IWMSA has identified the best waste-wise tips to get you through the festive season:
Give food parcels to homeless people or donate them to charity
Look for a Non-Profit Organisation in your area that is collecting and redistributing food this festive season. A handy website to help you find a charity that is nearest to you is
www.giveback.co.za or www.forgood.co.za.
“There are many people less fortunate than ourselves who would love to enjoy eating delicious Christmas party leftovers. So instead of throwing it away, call ahead to a charity and ask if they would appreciate receiving your leftover food,” says Palm.
Compost your food waste
Create your own compost to spread over flower beds in your garden using uncooked fresh produce like vegetable peels. You can add egg shells, tea bags and coffee granules to your compost bin.
“Remember to combine grass clippings and leaves from your garden with the food waste, not forgetting to turn the material to allow air in which will help it to break down quicker. There are numerous benefits to composting organic waste as it produces mulch, soil amendments and organic fertilisers,” explains Palm.
Give away or return unwanted gifts
Instead of throwing away gifts that you don’t want, consider who might enjoy owning them. Alternatively consider returning gifts to the shop where they were bought and request a refund or exchange.
“Set a trend in your family and encourage others to cross out prices on gifts, but leave tags on so that they can be returned if the receiver doesn’t want it, this is a simple way to ensure gifts don’t go to waste.”
Get smart with gift wrap
“Using gift bags instead of wrapping paper and sticky tape makes environmental sense, because there’s no need to drop off paper at a recycling depot. A gift bag can easily be folded flat and stored away, ready to be reused next Christmas,” says Palm.
Alternatively be prepared to collect as much wrapping paper for recycling as possible. Have a large bag on hand when gifts are unwrapped to store all gift wrap for recycling.
“Now is a perfect time to reconsider how we dispose of waste. We encourage everyone to approach this Christmas with the mindset of a Waste-Wise Warrior, by diverting waste away from landfills,” concludes Palm.
