Create a Zero Waste Habit Through Recycling

Tuesday, 21st November 2017 at 07:42:09

A majority of your waste are all recyclable. Now it’s all a matter of further harnessing that world-sustaining habit of recycling into your daily life. Here’s to further convincing…

One of the byproducts of a growing population is the amount of waste we produce. More people now have higher purchasing power, and to anticipate the availability of products to the masses, many companies are resorting to low-cost packaging—mostly plastics-based—so that they can manufacture even more items.

More alarming is the fact that more than 60% of waste at landfills is actually recyclable. According to a report from the UN Environmental Program, between 22 – 43 % of plastics are disposed in landfills even though they can be transformed into, for example,  polyester for clothing (like Jerseys) or fleece for carpet.

So what other reasons that make the act of recycling so important? First, it will reduce the need for raw materials—by simply using around 900 kg of recycled paper, you can help save 17 trees being cut down. And, naturally, recycling helps in conserving the earth’s natural resources such as coal, oil, and gas. For example, the production of the petroleum-based plastic alone absorbs around 8% to 10% of total oil supply. Wastes like paper, plastic, metal, and glass are all recyclable and the effort it took to process them are considerably less energy-consuming and pollutant-releasing compared to creating new ones.

Waste as a Resource

Here in ecoBali, first and foremost we encourage people to lead a zero-waste lifestyle, which means reducing and refusing the usage of unnecessary waste therefore eliminating the possibility of any sorts of waste—particularly plastic—to be disposed of out into the land and ocean that can contaminate soil and harm  marine species. But, of course, we cannot avoid producing waste, so what needs to change is how we view and deal with it: when we see waste as a valuable resource then we would be more inclined to recycle our own waste.

So far, ecoBali has recovered and recycled more than 18.000kg of plastic waste, partnering with other companies such as Tetra Pak, AQUA, The Body Shop, and Bali Buda who will process and recycle their own used packaging. The result? A 70 – 80% waste reduction through recycling (and composting).

“Similar to ecoBali’s vision, we also aim to create a zero-waste program,” says Felicity Verghese, Bali Buda’s Business Development and Strategy Executive. “The program is all about encouraging customers to drop their used Bali Buda’s packaging into our recyclable bin that is available in every store. Of course, the next step would be to encourage the customers to bring in their own packaging.”

In collaboration with AQUA, now you can drop off your used plastic bottle into these Dropbox that are available at Circle K’s at Buluh Indah and Teuku Umar in Denpasar; and at Kamasutra in Kuta. A similar Dropbox is also available by Tetra Pak for their carton waste.

If you look inside your trash bin (or elsewhere around your home), most of what you disposed of can probably be recycled right down to your pieces of clothing (save for spandex). The first step to ingrain the recycling habit into your daily lifestyle is to sort your waste: prepare two to four different bins if needed that separates paper, plastic, glass, and metal for easier disposal and collection; then find relevant individuals or companies who are into the recycling business such as waste banks or waste management companies like ecoBali.

It may sound simplistic, but just by dedicating a short amount of time a day to separate and recycle your waste you have taken a part in conserving the environment for posterity.