Green Tara

Reduce Reuse Recycle It's that simple! "To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves." — Mahatma Gandhi The government plans to enhance sewage and rubbish treatment facilities and prevent water pollution, accelerate green belt and natural forest planting programs, and increase energy conservation initiatives and pollution control projects. China Join Earth Hour on Facebook Click here	Some 20 000 tons of recyclable waste was collected within the first week of Pikitup's Separation at Source project in November 2009; in December that amount more than doubled. The project has been going well so far. Pansy Jali-Oyedele, Pikitup's acting manager of communications, says: "The Separation at Source pilot project has been gaining momentum with increasing participation from residents in the participating suburbs. Even though the project has been faced with challenges, it has remained on schedule." Click here Let's celebrate! SA saves 420 MW during Earth Hour – Eskom Click here Join Green Tara on Facebook Click here	CALCULATE your carbon footprint NOW! "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." — Franklin Delano Roosevelt Check out Soil For Live making a difference!

Reduce the waste you produce Try not to buy over-packaged products, such as plastic wrapped vegetables in polystyrene trays. Buy in bulk, as this gives you more product and less packaging. Buy refills and concentrates - these usually involve less packaging Buy local products. Choose less heavily processed products. Try to buy only what you need. Choose durable items rather than products that will soon need replacing. Repair broken items, or pay someone to repair them for you. Make your own gifts and gift wrap instead of always buying new items. Print using both sides of the paper saves money on buying paper and on storage and postage. It is also easier to fold and staple Only print what is necessary: for example, information on fax or printer cover sheets is usually unnecessary or can be included in the main document. Make electronic copies accessible. When an electronic database or document is more "accessible" than a paper version, people often choose to print less, thus saving paper. Re-use items before they become waste Reuse by taking items such as cardboard toilet roll cores, boxes, jars, margarine tubs and scrap paper to local schools for their projects. Choose returnable or re-usable containers. Reuse a product as many times as possible. If you have no further use for it, find someone who does. Many charities welcome donations of unwanted gifts, clothes, furniture, toys and books. Return glass bottles with deposits to shops for reuse Recycle your waste – many waste types can be reprocessed into useful items Very important! - Buy recycled – choose tissues, rubbish bags, stationary, hand towel and toilet rolls made from recycled materials (it should be indicated on the label – don’t worry, they are perfectly safe). Separate waste at home into organic waste, plastic, glass, tin cans and paper. All these can be recycled into useful products. Click here "In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York. Stopping the loggers is the fastest and cheapest solution to climate change." — Daniel Howden, writing in The Independent

What can I do?