Jonathan's Musings

In this day in age of throw away society and the rapid pace of development, humans as a species are generating enormous amounts of waste which is not bio-degradable nor of any practical use after a certain time.

Things like fax machines, telephones, computers, mobile phones... that are outdated as soon as you've bought them and are generally cheaper to replace than repair a year or two later!

I'm sure that some of you, like myself, are loath to throw away old electronics which you know could be useful to someone or have some value if only in the metals and components they contain.

Recently I've needed to do a cleanup of such items and did a bit of searching around to see what could be done with them. Most 1st world countries are well on their way in tackling this issue of e-Waste and while South Africa is a bit behind, I am glad to say there are solutions for us as well!

The motto of most anti-waste movements is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Reduce speaks to trying to use less throw away products and thereby reducing the amount of waste generated. I hope most of us try and do that anyway. Reuse speaks to selling old stuff or giving it away to worthy causes. Sure thing, but that only helps if it is working and if it isn't so outdated that they'd just throw it away themselves! If this is the case, then the only option left to you is: Recycle!

If you have equipment such as this, I urge you to visit this site about e-waste and the recycling thereof and find out where you can take stuff in your area.

I was extremely happy to hear that PikiTip (The JHB metro waste disposal company) offers a service whereby you can take equipment such as this, to normal garden refuse sites and place it in a special bin! They will then pass it on to Reclam who will recycle it.

You can get a list of PikiTup sites participating in this program on the e-Waste website, on PikiTup's website or by phoning PikiTup's call centre.

The Woodmead Garden Refuse Site is my next stop when next I go through to JHB and I will have a smile on my face when I gleefully toss my old dud monitors, phones and printers into the bin, knowing that at least there is some life left in them!