Food is sorted out for compost and plastic, tissue papers as well as glass are sorted differently

This drew my attention to recycling in my University back in South Africa. Such a system doesn't exist and the furthest we go is to sort out paper from other forms of rubbish. I presume this is the same situation in most campuses around the country. As young emerging leaders, we need to have this system imbibed in us and I hope to apply this knowledge when I return. Compost for our school gardens would be more environmentally friendly than the agrochemicals we use and cheap too.

On the bright side, an online poll reported by 'The Times' news paper states that many South Africans are prepared to spend a little more on environmentally friendly products. The views of 360 random shoppers were assessed by the major retailer 'Pick&Pay' head of World Environment Day last week and this informed the above conclusion. When asked how they contributed to the green cause, 180 respondents said they bought 'sustainable products' whenever they could and most chose products produced close to home: 83% said they bought electricity-saving light bulbs, 75% said they were water-wise in their gardens and homes, and 44% said they try to do a bit of everything, from recycling to growing their own vegetables. A greater percentage were also ready to pay slightly more for an environmentally friendly product.

With such results in mind, hopefully my idea to introduce the 'Eco-chef' system into my school cafeteria would be well-received and might catch on I'm open to ideas on how to make this work if you have such experiences in your school.