New bins have been installed across UCT’s Rondebosch campus to make recycling easier.
There are green bins for recyclables and yellow ones for non-recyclable waste.
Manfred Braune, UCT’s environmental sustainability director, said: “Recycling bins have been in place for many years at UCT, with different types and colour schemes. The latest batch of bins has been to improve the quality and reinforce the green/yellow colour scheme in the most high traffic areas.”
“The signage and branding is much better on these new bins and the bins are simply more practically suitable, like for example with bigger openings or easier to clean etc. Many of the old bins were also looking old and weathered with the colours no longer being visible which was confusing for students and staff.”
Having too many different kinds of bins tended to confuse people, he said.
“They don’t know what goes where, and with constant innovation in materials and recyclability, this is constantly changing.”
Bins for organic waste will be trialled in the campus food courts, and the food waste will be taken to a pig farm or a fly farm that produces food for a fish farm.
Noelene le Cordier, UCT’s senior horticulturist who manages the team that looks after the outdoor waste-collection services, said: “The bins are not sufficient on their own. They will only work if the UCT community takes them seriously and are regularly reminded and updated on how to use the facilities.”
The waste is collected daily and taken to an off-site sorting facility.
