Recycling centre hits rock bottom

THE Hillcrest Recycling Centre, initiated in 2008, is once again at risk of being closed down.

In October last year the centre had also reached a critical point. Despite being able to sort 30 tons of waste, the centre did not make enough profit to sustain itself financially.

According to Marge Mitchell, the chairman of Keep Hillcrest Beautiful Association, the centre has been running at a loss for the last three months. “Recycling plastics is the biggest problem. Organisations that collect and actually recycle the products into something else only want certain plastics. Only 20 per cent of all plastics in South Africa get recycled. The rest ends up in landfill sites,” said Mitchell.

Residents are urged to only sort and recycle four kinds of plastics: category 1 (PETE), category two (HDPE), category 4 (LDPE) and category 5 (PP). To verify the category of a plastic product simply check the bottom of a product for a number enclosed with a triangle. This will indicate the category.

Mitchell also reported that residents are not recycling properly, and are merely collecting recycling products and dropping them off at the centre. “Residents who wish to recycle properly needs to wash the products, and separate the paper, cans and various plastics into separate bags. This will save us hours of work,” said Mitchell.

In the past some residents have also complicated the situation for the staff by dumping non-recyclable products at the centre. Mitchell reported that this has not occurred recently and thanked residents for following the rules. “When people dump non-recyclable products at the centre it wastes the centre’s time and valuable resources,” said Mitchell.

However, Mitchell also reported that in April they had a once-off-issue where someone had stolen the cans sorted by the centre’s staff.

Mitchell implored residents or local organisations to sponsor the centre so that they can hire one more staff member, as this will enable the centre to keep its head above water.