Trash, what trash?

KNYSNA NEWS - After much gloom was forecast for the CX Recycling centre earlier this year, Chantal Julyan and her team of workers have been hard at work to get rid of the rubbish that had piled up at the centre due to various factors, with the majority of their problematic trash already done away with.

In February much blame was cast on the centre for the town's rat infestation as well as a foul smell wafting from the area. It was easy to blame the centre as the rubbish had begun piling up after a big change in the international recycling market which saw China no longer taking in recyclable waste.

This left many recyclable products unwanted by overseas markets, and eventually trickled down to Julyan having to deal with an overload of these items.

Being short-staffed compounded the issue, she said, but it was subsequently dealt with thanks to the appointment of 20 temporary workers, and in just a few weeks they were able to do away with the majority of the waste that had begun heaping up over and outside the centre's walls. "They were amazing, we could let those workers tackle that problem while my usual workforce tackled the inside of the centre," Julyan explained. "By the time they were done, the back area was cleared of most of its rubbish, but we still had the problem inside."

This related to mountains of waste, either in the form of unprocessed materials or bales of processed materials, that had yet to be taken away by the municipality, which Julyan said was not being done swiftly enough. The situation has changed, she said, as the municipality has begun removing processed waste on a daily basis and shipping it to other landfill sites where it could be dealt with accordingly. Julyan pointed out that they have been receiving less unrecyclable waste, noting that the community has also done their part.

The situation they now face is getting rid of glass items. "Manufacturers of glass products aren't making things anymore because of lockdown and this in turn means there is no demand for glass to be recycled," Julyan explained, but added that they are still accepting glass waste. "We're stockpiling glass at the moment, so that when we can send glass out again, we'll be ready to go with tons of the stuff."

Knysna Municipality also expressed their satisfaction with the progress Julyan has made of late. "The municipality is happy with the progress that has been made at the Waste Recycle Centre," said municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhout. "We also appreciate the efforts and contribution by the Renew Able Knysna organisation in trying to ensure that we fight the backlog."

The area adjacent to the main site has been cleared of the vast majority of its waste.