In a world that simply has too much waste, recycling at Suncoast is an important practice as part of its waste management strategy. Being in such close proximity to the beach and high on the priority list is the recycling of plastic. Over the recent holiday season, Goby, a 5 metre fish structure was stationed in the Amphitheatre to create awareness around plastic waste management and get the public involved in waste collection especially on the beaches. Sporadic beach and boardwalk clean ups were done resulting in 18 cubic meters worth of plastic waste diverted from landfill for recycling.
Suncoast’s recycled waste is managed by Oricol Environmental Services at the on-site depot, where paper, plastic, glass and other waste is sorted, separated, compacted, and transported to different depots for recycling. The Bokashi system which ran at Suncoast during 2019, has been recently reintroduced into the recycling programme at Suncoast. This system complements the already recycling programme, by taking the organic wet waste that would have gone to a landfill, and treating it to turn it into compost that is then used by local landscapers.
The Bokashi waste management system diverts as much as 60% of wet waste destined for landfill to diverted and used as organic compost.
All of these recycling efforts operate with the full commitment of the over 30 tenants at Suncoast extending even to service providers such as the cleaners who utilise biodegradable cleaning supplies. Ongoing environmentally responsible initiatives with Suncoast’s tenants include ‘The Last Straw’ campaign, where restaurants were encouraged to eliminate the use of plastic straws due to the lasting damage they do to the environment, particularly the oceans.
Initiatives are constantly evolving and improving, in line with Tsogo Sun Gaming’s property-specific environmental management systems and other factors that impact the effective management of waste. As such, Suncoast continues to focus on reducing waste with the goal being to reduce what is sent to landfill sites to zero. Coupled with this, Suncoast continues to implement technologies to reduce its usage of natural resources. This includes energy and water management programmes which has seen the property’s electricity and water usage not increasing over the past 5 years, although the property underwent and extensive redevelopment and expansion which constitutes to an increase of 30% in gross building area.
From simple measures such as installing meter taps and LED lightbulbs, to going on staff awareness campaigns asking staff to SOS (Switch Something Off), every opportunity to reduce, re-use or recycle is highlighted.
One of the most successful projects to date has been the water savings generated by water reclamation. This entails the condensation build-up, water from air, on the air handling units on the roof being directed into bulk water storage tanks, treated and then reused for irrigation purposes on property. Since the installation of this water reclamation project, no fresh water has been utilised to irrigate the gardens, with all of the irrigation water being provided by the air handling units’ condensation.
Help the world change by setting the example: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”- Robert Swan
