New glass recycling bins placed in PMB

For those of you hoarding empty bottles in the hope that glass recycling facilities will eventually be reintroduced, relief is at hand.

Seven new glass recycling bins were placed at various locations in the city last week, including the New England landfill site, and 13 more are to follow by the end of this week.

The placing of the bins, which take up to 700 kg of glass, is the result of a partnership between the Glass Recycling Company (GRC), a national non-profit organisation set up to increase the rate of glass recycling, and private service provider eThekwini Glass Recycling.

Glass waste collection in Pietermaritzburg came to a virtual standstill early last year when the last igloos, then managed by the Reclamation Group, were withdrawn.

The dearth of facilities has been the subject of frequent letters to The Witness.

Glass is 100% recyclable and will not bio-degrade in a landfill. Collection and recycling of glass is directly affected by transport costs because the country’s only glass mills are in Gauteng and the Cape.

Rajah Naidoo of eThekwini Glass Recycling said he anticipates that Pietermaritzburg will generate 75 to 100 tons of glass waste per month and more bins will be placed in accordance with demand.

Naidoo said he is open to being persuaded — by restaurateurs, pub owners or housing estate residents — that more bins are needed in specific areas.

“If people believe they generate sufficient volumes of glass, we would be happy to visit them and talk about the options.”

Naidoo said he can also supply a 210-litre drum or a plastic trolley bin.

New England Road landfill site manager Cyril Naidoo said glass collection bins should ideally sit alongside other recycling facilities such as garden refuse sites.

“We have to create a platform for recycling and make it easy for the public.”

According to Naidoo, the landfill site now has facilities for the collection of used engine oil. Facilities for electronic waste collection are also in the pipeline.

Attempts by the GRC to place glass bins in Pietermaritzburg late last year were delayed after local waste collection company Central Waste said it was unable to reach agreement with a Gauteng-based glass manufacturer on the pricing of the returned glass waste, or cullet.

Central Waste has, however, shown its commitment to glass recycling in principle by accommodating two glass recycling bins at its premises in Ohrtmann Road.

It has also placed more user-friendly collection cages on its premises for members of the public wanting to drop off general waste.