The following CANNOT be recycled

  • windscreens
  • laboratory glass
  • window glass
  • crystal and opaque drinking glasses
  • mirrors
  • heat-resistant ovenware
  • light bulbs
  • ceramic cups, plates and pottery
  • clay garden pots
  • Drinking glasses
  • Light bulbs – ordinary and energy-saving compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) – and fluorescent tubes.
  • NB CFLs and fluorescent tubes should not be thrown away with ordinary rubbish. They contain mercury, a toxin that can leach into the soil and groundwater if not disposed of properly. Take your old CFLs to the drop-off points at Pick n Pay and Woolworths stores where they will be disposed of safely. If you don’t have this option, place your old CFLs in a sealed plastic bag before you throw them in the bin.
  • Laminated or waxy paper
  • Punch confetti
  • Carbon paper
  • Stickers
  • TETRAPAK - Fruit juice and milk containers look like they’re made out of paper, but they are lined with aluminium foil and plastic so they must be recycled separately. Tetra Pak has opened its first small-scale recycling facility in Germiston, Gauteng, where its packaging is recycled into roof tiles, furniture and stationery. The company has plans to open more recycling plants around South Africa. For more information about Tetrapak see
  • Disposable batteries are not recycled – this is apparently because the material recovery rate is too small to make recycling economically viable. But they should not be thrown away with ordinary household waste either, because they contain toxic chemicals that can leach into the soil and groundwater. Rechargeable batteries, on the other hand, are recyclable. Add to this the fact that one rechargeable battery is the equivalent of up to 1,000 disposable batteries and you have a compelling argument to buy rechargeables from now on.
  • Pyrex
  • Ceramics.

To dispose of standard fluorescent tubes you can contact:

Brakpan: Computer scrap recycling – 011-7404330 011-7404330

Kempton Park: Desco electric recyclers – 011-979-3017 011-979-3017

Alternatively you can contact Ewasa (E-Waste Association of SA) for other contacts.

Commencement with the recycling curb side project at your prestigious Estate tested all concerned with patience and perseverance. We wish to submit the results of collection on the 4th April (awaiting figures for 18th):-

Only 1505 kg glass collected

Only 510 kg plastic (of various kinds) collected

Only 32kg of tin collected

Only 2300kg paper waste collected

Hopefully the run on the 18thyields better results making it more viable for the service provider. The next collection will be on the 16th of May – refer the recycling calendar already distributed in March.

All enthusiasts please ensure,

  • that your bags are FULL (especially the tins and glass). The service provider is receiving money on the recovering side and the bags they have to employ lifting (being nearly empty) are not worth a stop.
  • Also we found many, many bags containing the wrong recyclables in it. The workers are being slowed down trying to sort out which bags to empty;
  • Some bags are knotted – once again slowing down the workers;
  • Some bags contain mixed recyclables and the work is again being slowed.

Research done by Linda Deetlefs