What Trash!
“This is a problem that stretches from here to China,” Chantal Julyan sighs as she plonks herself resignedly down on a big bale of recycled waste in the centre of Knysna.
For weeks now the rubbish destined for recycling plants as far as Asia has been heaping up around her like the walls of a trash-castle that is threatening to cut her off from a seemingly more sanitised world outside.
Initially, after complaints of an ill smell emanating from the southern end of Auction Mart Avenue fringing the lagoon, Julyan’s business CX Recycling was fingered as one of the culprits in the rat infestation issue now surfacing in Knysna. But, it seems as if the municipality’s waste transfer station next to her recycling concern could also qualify as a contributor to the amplification of Knysna’s rodent population.
A player has left the field
Julyan and CX Recycling it turns out, are battling with a profound problem in its own right that could soon impact even heavier on Knysna than free-roving rodents. The world, she explains, is no longer interested in purchasing her trash. On a normal day in the rubbish recycling business, Julyan would separate and package a few tons of whatever recycled materials have crossed her portals, ship it off to a depot in George and pat her pocket pregnant with crisp new wads of cash. George would follow more or less the same routine to get it all to Cape Town and Cape Town, in turn, would wave the whole bunch of rubbish off to distant transpacific shores such as China. The entire process is in jeopardy if one of the players leave the field. Which it now seems China has done.
The primary reason for the backlog, Julyan explains, thus relates to a big change in the international recycling market. “Last year, China (who is our biggest receiver of recyclable waste) said they can no longer take in recyclable waste,” she says, adding that due to this, the demand for many recyclable products dropped, which in turn led to a drop in the amount of money recycling plants are able to obtain for what they recycle.
More workers needed
Another prominent reason for the rapid upheap at her site is residents’ ignorance of what can and can’t be recycled by Julyan’s team. Which makes sorting the recycled materials into the different categories (glass/plastic/paper etc.) more difficult. More workers are needed. While there are many items that are traditionally recyclable in bigger companies as they are able to take the financial knock, Julyan cannot afford to do this, especially because she had to cut down on her staff contingent. “Knysna’s residents aren’t aware of this, and that causes a big problem as our staff have to then sift through what we aren’t able to recycle, and that takes a lot of time away from being able to actually recycle,” she says.
This all signals a period of concern for CX Recycling with its 34-year history in Knysna.
The first depot in town depot was opened up in Progress Street in the Knysna Industrial Area in 1986 by Julyan’s dad, Chris Julyan, before being moved to Boswerker Street a few years later. After a few more years, it was moved to its current site on Waterfront Drive, where it has remained in operation to this day. After running the business for 26 years, Chris passed away in 2012, and his brothers jumped in until Julyan took over the business in 2015. She has since run the business privately with little assistance from the municipality.
Outgrowing its premises
Last year, Julyan requested the municipality for more physical space for her operation. The municipality dutifully agreed and extended the size of the site. Although this helped to some degree, operations have since outgrown the extension once more and the current upheaping isn’t helping. But all hope is not lost.
The light at the end of the tunnel has in the meantime come in the form of immense support from the community, and one organisation in particular – Renew Able Knysna. The organisation was founded after members of the community realised somebody needs to step in before the problem reaches a point of no return. Renew Able Knysna has since helped Julyan with funding to employ a further 20 employees, who have been working with her for just over a week. They have already made visible inroads according to Julyan, who said she is incredibly grateful for the assistance.
The public can also help – watch this space next week for exactly how this can be done.
The recycling depot in Auction Mart Avenue.
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News