Reduce your waste production
Household waste requires collection, transportation and processing. All this generates CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Landfills also waste valuable flat coastal land, which in Seychelles is in short supply.
Organic waste: If you or your friends have dogs or cats as pets, feed them your leftovers rather than throwing this away. You can also have a compost heap or bin for food scraps, grass clippings, leaves etc. Do not put meat/fish in the compost pile as this will attract rats - instead bury these deeply, if you do not have pets. Large quantities of garden waste can be collected by STAR (Tel: 4 386 060) for their composting program. Contact us for more information about composting.
Organic waste: If you or your friends have dogs or cats as pets, feed them your leftovers rather than throwing this away. You can also have a compost heap or bin for food scraps, grass clippings, leaves etc. Do not put meat/fish in the compost pile as this will attract rats - instead bury these deeply, if you do not have pets. Large quantities of garden waste can be collected by STAR (Tel: 4 386 060) for their composting program. Contact us for more information about composting.
Dogs not only guard against thieves but also eat up leftovers (PHOTO Elke Talma)
Waste paper: You can collect and drop off your waste paper at Navin’s Paper Recycling Company (Tel: 2 717 170) at Providence. Alternately, your paper waste can be shredded (or torn) and added to compost. One-sided paper and clean cardboard or other small card boxes can be donated to Crèches or schools for re-use, as can magazines or flyers with colourful images. Cardboard boxes can be flattened and used as mulch by home gardeners to stop weeds and keep in soil moisture.
Waste metal: Tins can be washed and reused as flower pots or storage containers. SAMLO and Sons (Tel: 2 516 918) based at the Providence landfill, exports scrap metal to India/China for recycling. Households can wash and save their tins and take these to Providence landfill to donate for recycling. If you have saved large amounts, SAMLO will pick them up. Note: do not let water collect in your metal containers as this not only will encourage mosquitoes to breed but also speed up the rusting process.
Waste plastic: Invest in a “green” cloth shopping bag and take this with you every time you go shopping so that you do not need to buy a plastic bag for your groceries or other shopping. Alternately, you can ask for a cardboard box to carry your shopping when buying in bulk, but you should be aware that cardboard production requires a lot of energy and also given the limited recycling options available in Seychelles, this is not necessarily an ideal solution to reducing waste production.
Waste metal: Tins can be washed and reused as flower pots or storage containers. SAMLO and Sons (Tel: 2 516 918) based at the Providence landfill, exports scrap metal to India/China for recycling. Households can wash and save their tins and take these to Providence landfill to donate for recycling. If you have saved large amounts, SAMLO will pick them up. Note: do not let water collect in your metal containers as this not only will encourage mosquitoes to breed but also speed up the rusting process.
Waste plastic: Invest in a “green” cloth shopping bag and take this with you every time you go shopping so that you do not need to buy a plastic bag for your groceries or other shopping. Alternately, you can ask for a cardboard box to carry your shopping when buying in bulk, but you should be aware that cardboard production requires a lot of energy and also given the limited recycling options available in Seychelles, this is not necessarily an ideal solution to reducing waste production.
Waste glass: All Seybrew bottles should be returned to the nearest shop for refund and re-use. DE Recycling ( 2 514 892) also takes back tomato sauce bottles for 40 cents. Old jam jars can be washed and re-used for making pickles or holding candles during a power outage. If you have colored glass, these can be donated to APANA (2 767 181) for artisanal glass recycling projects. Sustainability for Seychelles, along with LWMA ( Land Waste Management Agency ) and STAR are setting up a glass crushing/ recycling project.
Waste packaging: Try to buy things with minimal packaging, and if feasible, unpack the item in the shop and give them the waste to dispose of. This sends a strong message to the shop owner that you do not want over packaged products. Carefully unwrap gifts and re-use the wrapping paper. If you do not want to reuse it, donate the paper to your nearest school or Crèche.
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Waste PET bottles: These can be sold for 50 cents each at designated refund centres ( Providence, Anse Royale, St Louis, Praslin and La Digue). If this is too much trouble, you can simply sort them into a separate clear bag and place this next to a public bin for someone else to take for the refund – they will get recycled!
Used Clothing: Clean used clothing can be dropped off at schools or churches for re-use as rags or craft materials (if very used), or for redistribution to families in need (if still in good shape). At times of crisis, the Red Cross (Tel: 226 231) also accepts donations of clothing and other items to help families who have lost their home to fire, etc.
Used car tyres: Used car tires can be traded in at MEC (Pty) LTD (Tel: 4 344 912) at Le Rocher. Retreaded tires are slightly cheaper than new ones. You can even use old tyres as “flower pots”.
Use bins wisely to discard your waste rather than throwing rubbish in the street, on the beach or in the bushes. Think of all the bus tickets or sweet wrappers you carelessly threw away that are now floating in the sea for turtles to eat!
Used ink cartridges: The Ink Doctor (Tel: 4 374 078) cleans and refills most brands of small ink cartridges and has a 100% guarantee. For larger toner cartridges, they re-use the shell and replace all inside components. They offer pick-up and delivery and only take 1-3 days. The price is about the same as a new cartridge.
