Poster

GREEN IS GOOD.

tripple R ....Reduce,Reuse,Recycle

The above plastic bag from Pick n Pay is made from HDPE plastic. The material has properties that makes it ideal to be a packaging product. The plastic is strong, resits insects, rotting and other chemicals.The plastic is easily recycled and can be used again and again.The Pick n Pay bags are made of 30 % recycled plastic material and they still can be recycled again and again. It is also a good thing that Pick n Pay Company encourages its consumers to recycle the bags , this shows they are putting a hand towards saving and conserving the planet.....There is more to the plastic than just using it as a bag and indeed we should REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE.

How Green is Our Borough
By Eve Taylor

How green is our Borough? Is it barren and bare?
Is it stripped of its beauty? Do we really care?
Dereliction and eyesores mount up everyday,
Made worse by the rubbish that we throw away.

In each empty garden or plot of waste land,
We could plant flowers to make it look grand.
Don't fill up our air with car fumes and smoke,
It's polluting the atmosphere, which isn't a joke.

Global warming, right now, dominates the news,
So stop and look at the items you use.
Is it CFC free?....... Is it harmful to man?
Just read all the labels, it helps if you can.

Lovely young trees line the road to the strand,
Put there for our pleasure, and all open planned.
They'll look so attractive, if allowed to grow,
If they are not damaged by children we know.

Our Borough is changing so much day by day,
So if we all help in our own little way,
By keeping the environment clean and protected,
We'll reap the rewards, just as expected.

DROP AND GO!!!

This is Century City drop and go recycling facility situated at Century Avenue public transport interchange. Here there are different coloured bins that enable the community to drop off and seperate their waste for recycling. Every colour of each bin gives direction to the disposer of what to dispose and where.

Navy bin- Paper disposal
Green bin- Glass disposal
Yellow bin- Plastic disposal
Blue bin- Can disposal

I should say that this is a very interesting project and it reduces unnecessary disposal sites that harm the environment. We need more projects like these in different areas, this project is also practiced in Port Elizabeth in Summerstrand suburbs. I think the municipalities should also consider taking these kinds of projects in townships where disposal is atmost.

Summerstrand recycling project

 Lets recycle and save planet earth

Recycling is all about making the planet a better place for everyone,by recycling we also save the environment.Each of the three arrows can represent one step in a three-step process that forms a closed loop,the recycling loop. The plastic I used is Low Density Polyethylene and its code is code 4 which indicates its low density. The LDPE is a very tough,strong and flexible plastic but it is also easy to recycle because of its flexibility.

My Recycling Label

I  have used my plastic sleeve folder's recycling label as an example for todays blog. The symbol is comprised of a recycling symbol with the number four within it, which indicates to us that the product is made from low-density polyethylene or LDPE. Low-density polyethylene is a thermoplastic that is made from a monomer of ethylene. It hasnt got many recyclable applications but one way of recylcing it is by adding it to wood for industrial applications. When LDPE is recycled, it saves the atmosphere the most greenhouse gasses.

recycling material is a concept or way of life that can save our planet. to know when you must recycle something you can look for the symbol that shows that that product can be recycled.

examples:
the symbol on the second picture tells us that this material is made of polyproylene which has a low density, strong and resistant to chemicals. this is a packet of biscuits.

the other pictures has different symbols like picture 5 which is high density polyethelene, which has good stiffness and has a resistance to chemicals.

picture 4 is a plastic that is a combination of one or more resins.

Today's video clip has opened my eyes about the aquatic life. For once in my entire life I have never since such care for animals. The preparation of the aquatic tank was so delicate that it seemed as the queen is about to visit, it took the guy so much time to put all the necessary stuff in the tank to make the fish lives sustainable. To be honest I was really astonished. The video was impressive in a sense that I learned a lot about the aquatic life.

RECYCLING

How many of us actually re-use plastics? If you go to buy grocceries the last thing you would want to be carrying around is a bunch of creased old plastic bags, all in the name of RE-USING. We would rather buy new plastic bags everytime we go and buy items at the shop, and we most proberbly keep those plastic bags untill they pile up in the drawer and eventually we throw them away, hoping that they will get recycled. Question is, why keep them in the first place? Guilt concious gets the best of us sometimes, and we feel like we can find good use of these plastic bags-eventually, but in most cases we really don"t. In rural areas things work rather differently though. Firstly the municipality doesn"t collect rubbish from households, so burning all waste is the only alternative there is, recyclable or not-we just burn them:). So I would say recycling happens on a very small scale in rural areas, and if you consider all the rural areas there are in South Africa, it"s safe to say that there"s not enough recycling happening as its sappose to be.

Lastly, I found out that processing used plastics often costs more than virgin plastics, so PET recyclers can"t compete with the virgin resin flooding the market, unless we turn tables:)

Just thoughts..and I"m signing out:):)
Aboh

 

 

Plastics

Recyclable butter container

This is a picture of a butter container, I was not aware that it was recyclable. The container is made out of a plastic called polypropylene which has various properties. Polypropylene is has a resistance to heat, grease, chemicals, oil and it has a barrier to moisture. Polypropylene is used for packaging because of its low density and it is flexible which makes it easy to mold.

Iodine Table Salt - LDPE(4)

This a plastic made out of Iodine Table salt. The type of plastic used here is LDPE(Low-density polyethylene). I think this plastic of plastic is used especially for this product because it is tough, flexible and it is transparent so you can see the contents inside and it is easy to process.

LDPE is recyclable but most of the areas do not have the facilities to recycle it so you spend most energy on transporting it where its ought to be recyled. It can be recycled into trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tile etc

 

UN-USEFUL PRODUCTS THAT WE NEED TO ELIMINATE IN FUTURE

After buying a 1litre milk cartoon(PnP product), i decided at a later stage that i actually wanted to see the recycling symbol for it. Sad enough i could not find any.

This made me a bit curious and the first thing that came on my mind was that this cartoon is actually unuseful, it forms part of the cradle-to-grave system. I decided to open it and this is what i found.

If we can recall from our previous lectures, we were told that the foil inside makes it difficult to recycle a product like this. The only recyclable part of this milk cartoon i found was the lid.

the recyclying symbol for this lid was the one below, and i found a bit unusual from those i have learnt in class, and i could not find the explaination for it.

As upcoming environmentalists, when need to eliminate products like these that are only about 5% recyclable. We need to find new ways to store our milk, if we continue this way we are killing the planet.

HONESTLY, I UNDERESTIMATED PIGS

Generally pigs are classified as animals that are typically found merely dirty. Nevertheless in this world of

ours as everyone knows that clean things are likely to be acceptable or liked the most in the society. We turn  not to consider the importance of a particular thing, but attracted by the physical properties of it. How good and attractive the food is important to most people than what you literally attain after eating the food. I belonged to that group of people, but after watching the pigs video my mindset was transformed completely.
 I never thought that pigs could be so essential the way people in rural areas treat them. I mean one area in Kwazulu Natal province called slangsprait in Pietamaritzburg, Pigs are everywhere they happened to be owned  by someone in the year 2006 but then He passed away, now it is pathetic to see all the pigs all over the place there were about 290 at that time He obtained them and about 3 to 4 pigs die every week instantly. This is due to people living in that area, they reckon that you see a pig should kill, for simple reason that they are not good for their crops. Some are hit  by cars when trying to cross the road and guess what, they celebrate that moment if they see a pig lying on the road. One reason I say looked down upon them is because I once belonged to that group. After seeing that video clip that pigs make or contribute in making 135 products in this  world that most of them make our lives sustainable in small or great way, I was shocked and  ashamed because i hated pigs and thought that they were not at all useful than producing meet with lot of fat that stimulates issues for human health. I now respect them but  the big and foremost question that I am asking myself  is weather its feasible to transform the minds of those people so we swim in the same water, is it possible? I now love pigs because they love me by giving me these vital products.

ESS HAS BEEN AN EYE OPENER FOR ME ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO RECYCLING

Greetings to all my name is Nomanesi Makhonco. In the ESS module we are currently doing a section on labelling and recycling. There are two separate categories that recycling can be divided into namely; recyclable and recycled .You may ask yourself what is the difference between these two, well as I have recently learned the difference is that the recyclable means that the product can be used again as for the recycled it means that the product contains material that has been recycled.

There are many symbols used to represent these two and to my surprise I only knew a few let alone what they meant in a way ESS has been an eye opener for me. Here are some of the recyclable symbols that I have found at my house, It is amazing how we miss such important things when they are right in front of us and then we cry negligence towards companies when we too do not take note of their interventions. We need to start working with these companies to prevent the catastrophe that would occur if we stopped recycling. Let us not blame one another but let us work towards one goal and that is to work towards a better future for us and the world its self.

As you can see the first picture shows ARROWS going around the number 7 and at the bottom the text says “OTHER”. This is a plastic symbol that I took from a tea bag plastic the company that the product comes from is GLEN, as can be seen the product is recyclable. Now on to serious business the “ÓTHER’’ includes any resin not specifically numbered 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 or combinations of one or more of these resins.

The second product is that of the company BOKOMO, the product’s name is Weetbix. The product contains three arrows going around. The text under the symbol says ‘’RECYCLABLE FOR THE FUTURE. The symbol is a modification of the traditional recyclable symbol that only contains white arrows. The modifications vary from company to company.recycling is a responsibility for all of us so let us all start paying attention.

Call me the devils advocate

Today is the day I put it out there. All out there.

I took a step back and thought about this so called unique, never done before experiment and I noticed a few flaws. Before I mention them I would like to mention a few good points concerning ESS and the experiment. Firstly, I do like the point that its done on a professional level one that can be compared to that of a post-grad thesis. ESS is also very hands-on and practical. However I must point out a few weak linksin our experiment namely:

The controls (at the student’s home) are not even close to resembling the experiment itself. Firstly the jars in each person’s house are different. I don't know about the other students but my room gets an average of 8hours sunlight when I remember to open my blinds. I’m pretty sure the LFS building gets a bit less then that but I guess we will never know. Now, something very important. I have not only a brother that I know plays with my plant but, like every other home, I have pests (Flys,mosquitoes ect).These are only but a few small concerns I have with my little Flora. Is having it even necessary I keep asking myself? 

 I feel that the following will play a role, might not be big, but a role in the experiment never the less. The stones, the net, size of the room and level at which the fish are being kept.                        The stones; the stones are used supposedly to regulate pH, evidence of this is should still come to light. A few questions come to mind when I saw the stones at the bottom of the jars on the firth floor; did anyone boil it in water for at least ten minutes to get rid of any bacteria, fungus, algae and parasites that may be present? Did anyone ensure by a reliable source that these stones that are being used are found in the fish’s natural habitat? How do we know if these rocks don't contain dangerous metals or minerals which will leech into the water over time and kill your aquatic animals or alter the chemistry of the water?

I don’t want to mention a lot about the net or the size of the room itself as I feel this is all common knowledge as to how it will effect our experiment but I will mention a few points concerning the level at which the plants are found. Firstly this experiment is being completed on level five. Now I’m no expert but I feel being above sea level will not only effect the fish but on the plant as well. These plants are not indoor plants yet we expect them to grow as if they are. Oxygen is at a lower concentration the higher we go. These fish are living organism and just like you they can feel when something is not right. These plants grow at ground level and fish swim at sea level not five levels up.

As future scientists we should stop thinking inside the box. These above mentioned problems that I stumbled upon are not even a drop in the bucket when it comes to improving the over all experiment. We must realise that our work remains for next generations and we should leave no stone unturned when it comes to having the perfect experiment and with it perfect results. My name is William Sonnenberg and I’m a B.sc student.

Various plastic materials

polypropylene (PP) common plastic containers

 this is a polypropylene (pp) symbol i found on a yoghurt carton. this means or indicates that its properties are are tough, strengh and it has a reistance to heat, grease, oil and chemicals. it also has a barrier to moisture.

 also a polypropylene (pp) found on a margarine box

An interesting label I came across is one I found on a clover milk carton.

 the blurry caption reads "Tetra Pack Cartons are mainly made from paperboard a renewable resource from well managed forests."

the label that does not appear so well in the photograph is this one.

Paperboard, a cousin to cardboard, and also known as box board and container board is really, thicker paper. At some places you’ll find that paperboard may be combined with shredded paper due to the ‘lower grade’ or length of the paper threads. The trick in recycling paperboard is to evaluate the type you have – normal paperboard, shiny paperboard (most product packaging), a food to-go or take away paperboard box (though if heavily soiled can contaminate the other paper in the recycling process; through biodegrading of the food remnants). You’ll need to evaluate the paperboard and condition of the paperboard at the point of separation for recycling.

This a 250 grams chip packet. is it mad e of Polypropylene (PP) which  is a thermoplastic polymer commonly used in food packaging. Polypropylene has an intermediate level of crystallinity between low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) .
This material is less tough than HDPE and less flexible than LDPE. It also has excellent moisture barrier characteristics, good clarity, high gloss and good tensile stress. As PP has only average gas barrier properties, it is often used in combination with metallised film, PVDC coating or acrylic which provides additional barrier properties.
The chip packet is made from polypropylene laminated onto a metal foil. This material comprises polypropylene film which has been metallised on one surface by vacuum deposition of high purity aluminium. The appearance is of aluminium foil, but the film has the flexibility, strength and thickness of the base film which is the polypropylene.

This is a recycling label from shield roll-on. Made from Polypropylene (PP). Used because it is tough, strong and resistant to heat, oil and chemicals and is a barrier to moisture. It is used as packaging because it has the lowest density of the resin used in packaging.

This recycling product it from Johnson's facial wash. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) was used. it is tough, flexible and transparent but the Johnson's company colours were used. Has a low density.

Polypropylene labelling

Its properties are that it is hard still but flexible,versatile,withstands solvents etc.It is mainly used for bottles,ice cream tubes,lunch boxes etc.It has a lot of advantages such as:
-has moderate strength and stability
-high temperature resistant
-moisture resistant
-has flexibility which makes it simple to mold etc

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

This is a picture of a laptop sheet. It comes between the screen and keyboard if you close your laptop. Its toughness, flexibility and transparency makes it perfect for its function. LDPE is commonly used in applications where heat sealing is necessary. It is also used in wire and cable insulation and jacketing.