- By Times’ Junior Journalist Romi Feng
Did you know that only about 50 per cent of all the rubbish in landfills are actually supposed to be there?
Over 35 per cent of all that rubbish is actually food scraps that could be turned into electricity and natural fertiliser, 10 per cent is recyclable, like soft plastics and paper bags, and 5 per cent is things that can be reused, or electronics.
That means that if we all be principled and put things in the right bins, we can reduce at least half of the waste in our landfills.
To start, putting food scraps in the food scraps bin is a great way to take the first step to saving our planet, and it hardly takes any effort.
You can put in things like fruit and vegetable scraps, dairy products, meals, meat scraps, eggshells, and even indoor-cut flowers.
If you’re unsure about something, you can go onto the Auckland Council website that has all the information you need.
Also, if you’re worried about the smell, you can buy compostable bin liners at supermarkets for only $2.80 a roll.
The second-best way to reduce rubbish going to landfills is to recycle.
For hard plastics, only the numbers 1, 2, and 5 can be recycled.
Usually, the number is shown on the bottom of the plastic, framed by three arrows in a triangle shape, however, the bottle caps can’t be put in the recycling bin as they mess with the recycling machines.
Check the lid of your bin for what you can and can’t put inside.
Lastly, if you have any broken electronics, you can take those to your nearest e-waste centre – like the East Tamaki Refuse Transfer Station or the Appliance Recycling Ltd – where they pick your electronics apart, scavenge any usable parts like gold or copper, and turn them into something brand new.
Although it might seem like an unnecessary hassle, it is vital to saving our planet, one step at a time.
- Romi Feng is in year 8 at Bucklands Beach Intermediate School
