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We
are running out of space for our rubbish!
The Cook Islands are small and not everyone wants to live next
to a landfill. Our new landfill will not last long if we are not
very careful with what we throw out. Maybe just 12 years! Landfills
are not really the solution, theyare just what we have to have
as we move towards zero waste.
Well over half of what most households throw out could be recycled.
We must all do more recycling now!
Rubbish
doesn’t break down very well in a landfill. Plastic, steel,
aluminium and even paper and cardboard take tens or hundreds of
years to break down.
Green
waste from the garden or kitchen creates methane gas – one
of the greenhouse gases that is thought to contribute to global
warming which may well be a threat to our very existence, especially
on low lying islands.
In
old landfills rainwater used to filter down through creating a
liquid called leachate, which can escape and contaminate surface
and groundwater and eventually our lagoons. It has cost a lot
of money to prevent this happening in our new landfill, but we
must be careful with what we throw into the landfill.
What
can I put in my recycling bin?
Glass
bottles and jars
Rinse
all glass bottles and jars before placing them
in your recycling bin without their tops or lids,
but
please
don’t put:
- Broken
glass – wrap carefully and put in your rubbish
bag
- Mirrors
- Window
glass
- Lightbulbs
- Drinking
glasses
- Ceramics
- Kitchenware
- Ornamental
glass
- Crystal
- Reinforced
glass
- Frosted
glass
- Pyrex
and arcoroc tableware
- Chemical
bottles and medicine bottles from chemists
- Glass
bottles that contained petroleum products, acids or
poisons.
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Plastic
bottles (grade 1&2)
Check
the number in the recycling triangle and remove tops and
rinse before placing in bin. Bottles should be squashed
flat and the tops should go into your rubbish bin.
Recycle
these:
- Soft
drink bottles
-
Detergent bottles
-
Household cleaner bottles
- Shampoo
and conditioner bottles
But
don’t recycle these:
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Tin
cans and aluminium cans
Recycle
the following cans:
- Corn
beef
- Pet
food
- Baked
beans
- Spaghetti
- Soft
Drinks
- Beer
- Fruit
- Aerosols
(provided they are empty)
But
please don’t recycle:
- Paint
tins
- Fuel
containers
- Fridge
parts
- Garden
tools
- Aluminium
foil, plates or trays
- Aluminium
food containers
- Aluminium
pots and pans
- Paper
& cardboard
- Bundle
up or put in plastic bags (the recyclable ones!) or
cardboard boxes and take to Foodland.
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Paper
and cardboard
Recycle
these:
But
not:
- Milk
or Juice cartons
- Tetrapak
- Beer
and six-packs designed for the fridge
- Pizza
boxes
- Frozen
food boxes
- Waxed
or painted paper
- Wallpaper
- Polystyrene
- Kleensaks,
garbage bags
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Please
remember that 'people' have to sort your recyclables, not machines,
so don't put anything in your recycling bin that you wouldn't
like to handle again yourself.
DO:
-
Sort out your rubbish
- Recycle
glass, some plastics, paper/cardboard, tin and aluminium cans
- Compost
your garden waste
- Feed
your food scraps to the pigs or your neighbours pigs or compost
food scraps as well
- Bury
fish scraps Use only recyclable bags when shopping
- Buy
products with less packaging
- Buy
products with recyclable packaging it at home work or
school too!
DON’T:
-
Put green waste in your rubbish
- Put
recyclables in your rubbish Burn rubbish unnecessarily
- Throw
rubbish out of your car window!
This
is how long it takes for some common household rubbish to break
down in a landfill:
- Orange
or banana peel :: Up
to two years
- Plastic
bags :: Between
20 & 1000 years
- Cigarette
filters :: 1-5
years
- Glass
bottles :: Forever
- Nylon
fabric :: 30-40
years
- Plastic
6-pack holders :: 100
years
- Styrofoam
:: Forever
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