A plea to everyone reading

On an unusually blistery day in the middle of May, I attended the last in-person workshop for the sustainability certificate (GSD students look out for this when signing up for term 3 extracurricular certificates). Today was all about waste management, which involved auditing not just the amount, but types of waste generated within campus.

We took a sample of 10 bags of ‘waste’ from the recycling bins scattered across campus accommodation, each weighing roughly 4 kg. We were then asked to sort out the materials inside these ‘recycling’ bags to see how much stuff is actually recyclable, and whether people were actually aware of what to recycle.

To answer simply, it was absolutely certain that recycling had not been taken seriously. We found used up tissue, contaminated food, from chicken bones, chunks of squished tomatoes, and innumerable bags of unopened bagels, all disposed in the recycling bin. On average, only roughly 1kg of the average 4kg from these recycling bags were actually recyclable.

It was a real shame to see that these issues were not taken seriously, seeing the environmental deteriorate when we couldn’t even be bothered to be more conscious of how our actions may result in other recyclable items being contaminated. Many may think that one little item thrown into the wrong bin won’t matter much, but it adds up, and incurs a huge cost for those trying to save recyclable materials- the time sorting them through again, cleaning contaminated items etc.

If there’s one thing you can take away from this, please try to take note of what items you’re disposing of, always ask yourself ‘is this recyclable?’, then check for any labels in the item. Another advice is to check the number on the plastic containers- in general, 1, 2, 4, 5 and recyclable, whereas 3, 6, 7 are not.

A little change is already enough to help the planet, so take action, educate those around you, and let’s try to spread the positivity, because it really does multiply into greater things!