Recycled LP Records - What do you mean by "Eco?"

RECYCLED LP RECORDS

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What does "eco" mean?

What do you mean by ECO?

We recently spent some time exploring my birthplace and the country where I spent most of my formative years, South Africa. It was a great opportunity to introduce my wife to the way I grew up and to do some much needed relaxing, re-connecting with friends and family and seeing if folks in another time zone are doing similar things to us in the northerm climes.

As expected, the weather was spectactular with mid-20's (Celcius) near the coast and high teens inland, although some farmers in the Midlands experienced a dose of light snow after we left. Phew...just missed that one! The countryside is beautiful, from banana palm trees, surf and sand to rolling green hills and rugged mountainous regions. And to top it off we went on a safari in Hluhluwe (pronounced: Shloo-shloo-wee) and saw 4 of the Big 5 animals and plenty of the other different, but just as special, wildlife.

Travel destinations in South Africa, like a lot of other country's, tout themselves in brochures, books and magazines as being eco-friendly, green, environmentally sensitive, etc. Thus, we were expecting top-notch recycling, water-saving appliances and sustainability to name a few of our common goals here in Canada. NOT SO. Everything goes in the same garbage bag: food, plastic, paper, aluminum and glass. There are a few places that encourage separation of plastic and paper from the rest, but these items make it to the same bag and apparently are sorted at their destination. Toilets in general have no water-saving features in a land where water is incredibly scarce and signs are up on light poles naming water starved regions. Not to mention the taps that dribble constantly due to insufficient maintenance. Bottles are not readily recycled and unfortunately most cannot be returned, so they too go into the black bag.

Driving through some of the bigger cities, I noticed that every 10 feet or so along the sidewalks in a lot of areas, there would be a bag, sometimes with litter flowing from it into the street. After inquiring about this oddity, I was informed that workers were paid to collect garbage and then leave the bags at intermittent spacing to be collected by the municipality or a contractor. It turns out that those bags have been there so long that they too are breaking down and have become permanent fixtures along the roadways. Go figure!

As a keen beachcomber and saltwater fisherman, I was stunned at the trash washing up on the beaches especially nearer the cities. Instead of discouraging littering with viable programs in place, individuals are hired to clean up the "swimming" beaches daily, but every time the waves wash in, so does more plastic. If this sounds familiar, it's time to take a stand to take our public spaces back.

I guess "green" and "eco" in South Africa, mean that ones' surroundings are well treed and wooded. I don't debate that, as there are plenty of mature, healthy trees in their natural state and the woodlands are spectacular for walking in, with a multitude of trails, waterfalls, canyons and scenery.

Not to say that we North Americans are doing enough to tidy up our planet, but it certainly is interesting to experience what is considered a first world country's perception of ECO.

So let's continue to show appreciation for what our planet has to offer and all do our bit by reducing, re-using and recycling. Hopefully by educating and by just doing our share, we can rub off on those around us and in other parts of the world there will be progress towards a more sustainable earth.