Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling 

Being a boarder at Bishops comes with its pros and cons regarding the environment, ranging from energy usage to refuse and recycling.

Looking particular at the senior grades who stay in single and double studies, where there are not five or six other boys telling you to keep your area clean. Junior grades are generally less responsible and wont really actively look to recycle.

Boys will be boys and unlikely clean up “properly” after themselves. More often than out, boys will throw everything considered rubbish into the bin and forget about it, while this might not be a problem should the recyclables be separated at a later stage. This does, however, lead to more effort on another person’s hands that will later go through and separate the recyclables.

A previous initiative sought out a solution throughout the school by introducing the multi-coloured bin lids. While it exists, there is no real reason to use them other a person’s care for the environment, and as a result they are not as effective as they could be.

Introducing an incentive/competition to spark peoples’ interests and will have a positive effect towards recycling.

Something like:

·       Organise grades/dorms into groups. (Where bins are located in rooms)

·       Assign these bins a colour to prevent anyone exploiting the system.

·       Over a time period (2 weeks) recycling will be counted and measured but not shown.

·       At the end of the period, scores/amounts will be revealed and the winning group will be able to do something fun, from a set list, during a Prep session.

This will incentivise recycling and prey/feed on Bishops boys’ ingrained nature of loving competition.  

The recyclables can then be recycled. Organic waste can be turned into compost to use around the Founder’s garden and the school. This will take pressure off Cape Town’s dumpsites which are filling up quickly. Things like garden waste, vegetable and fruit peelings and paper can all rot easily and make good compost.  (Worst off group will have to maintain the compost for that time period)

The other materials that can recycled can be sent off in one go to a nearby recycling centre. All the recycling from the campus can be sent together to minimise petrol use and carbon emissions from the transport.