Friday, 21 October 2016
Namibia Economist

Recycle Forum Namibia (RNF) has taken the lead to drastically raise awareness of the benefits of recycling by declaring this upcoming Saturday, 22 October, Windhoek Recycle Day.
It is the first time that such an event is hosted. All Windhoek residents, including corporates and the government ministries are encouraged to bring all their recyclables to one central spot where containers will be available not only for traditional items such as paper, glass, cans and plastic, but also e-waste, household batteries, light bulbs, printer cartridges and toners.

The Forum stated it hopes to inspire and involve Windhoek to embark on special recycling initiatives and to ensure that everybody participates actively in recycling.

RNF Coordinator, Anita Witt said “We also encourage the submission of e-waste which is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. This includes cartridges, broken staplers, computers, telephones, calculators, etc. – all electronic devices and items not used anymore or broken which can be recycled.

According to Witt, the City of Windhoek Waste Management Department will also launch and introduce containers for household batteries and light bulbs on Windhoek Recycle Day. These containers make it possible to safely dispose of problem items such as small batteries and lightbulbs which should not end up in normal household waste.

“We are very excited about the availability of these containers as this is a concern often raised by the public. The containers will thereafter be available to the general public to safely dispose of these items at locations to be identified by the City of Windhoek. At the Windhoek Recycle Day, members of the public will also be able to meet and get to know the RNF members. We will be inviting our members to showcase their products and services, and these include products such as solar lamps, fashion garments made from plastic bags, glass crushing machines, etc.” she said. The top 2015/16 Recycling School, Dagbreek School will bring items that can not be accommodated in their recycling stand at the school, to the venue.

The Windhoek Recycling Day which the RNF plans to host annually, highlights the benefits and importance of recycling. This platform exposes the public to initiatives and to agents of recycling.

For this purpose, the Forum has compiled a Green Directory which will be launched soon. “We would like to encourage all Windhoek residents to bring along all types of recyclables to our first ‘one stop’ recycling event – and in that way support the awareness and the RNF in its initiatives to keep our beautiful environment from harm for the benefit of not only us, but also for future generations to come. This is a day of excitement and fun while keeping the environment clean and reducing the health risk that comes with uncontrolled waste” Witt concluded.