Residents praise recycling initiative

Environmentally conscious Nahoon residents are leading the way with a new community recycling initiative, which could be expanded if Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) come on board.

The issue of recycling, more especially the lack of facilities for recycling, was raised at the Nahoon Dispatch Civic meeting held earlier this year.

Members of the community expressed a deep desire to clean up the environment and requested recycling bins all over the suburb, making it easier for them to recycle their waste.

Richard Patten, who runs a waste management service, heeded the community’s request and approached Nahoon Spar to put up a recycling container for glass, plastic and paper at the Oxford Striders’ field.

The container has been operational since June this year.

Many community members say the initiative has been working well.

“There had been a great demand from the public, and people like things made easy for them so this is a one-stop recycling container that has slots for different types of recyclable material,” said Patten.

A regular user, resident Sheryle Meyer said that the containers were placed in a convenient spot, but explained that it was meant for small quantities.

“It is a great initiative and it’s definitely a move in the right direction,” said Meyer.

Another resident passionate about the environment, Aniela Batschari, said the new container “looks neater than the glass igloos” widely used across Nahoon.

Ward councillor Isabelle Thompson applauded Patten for his efforts and encouraged every resident in her ward to make use of the large container.

Manager at Nahoon Spar Jacques Kleyn said that shoppers often spoke of the long distance they had to travel to recycle.

“Our customers have mentioned they have to go to Dorchester Heights to drop off their recyclables. So far we have received positive feedback, especially from the bed and breakfasts in the area”, said Kleyn.

He added that if the new containers proved to be a success, the store would look at sponsoring others in the neighbourhood.

Buffalo City councillor Rowan Thiele said that ratepayers in Beacon Bay had been calling for recycling containers as well, and said he was keen to partner with Patten in making this possible.

Both Thiele and Thompson said they were concerned about the landfills in and around East London, which they believed were over-used.

Thompson said she would take the matter further and do her best to ensure BCM came on board.

Despite the success of the new recycling container, resident Mike Marais, who lives opposite Oxford Striders, complained that the noise from the glass bottles disturbed his sleep.

However, none of his neighbours seemed to mind and said they also made use of the recycling bin.

In response to Marais’ complaint, Patten said that in the interim he would replace the glass deposit slot for cardboard.

(This story is courtesy of The Dispatch. Used with permission.)