RecyclePaperZA releases ready-to-use graphics for designers and retailers to promote recycling

RecyclePaperZA, the South African paper recycling association, has produced a set of graphics that just about anyone can apply on paper-based packaging and communication materials.  The basic message is short and simple: Recycle this product – whether it be a box, a brochure or a document. The graphics are available Adobe Illustrator, EPS and Jpeg formats.

“The first step in the recycling process is separation-at-source,” says Anele Sololo, manager: training and operations for RecyclePaperZA. “It helps to reduce the amount of re-usable paper-based material going to landfill by keeping it clean and dry before until it reaches paper mills that make it into new products that we use every day.”

There are many paper-based products that do not overtly encourage recycling and as a result end up being thrown in with general rubbish and wet waste, leading to contamination of the paper fibre. “We want businesses and brand owners to extend their responsibility by helping consumers know what should be put into a paper recycling bin and what is general waste.”

Last year, the paper recycling industry, conscientious consumers and thousands of collectors kept 1.3 million tonnes* of paper, paper boxes and liquid packaging out of landfill. This amount would fill 1,539 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

“However, there are still many people who do not know what is recyclable. By printing these graphics on products can be separated from wet and non-recyclable waste, we hope that consumers will be actively encouraged to separate at source,” says Sololo.

The graphics can be downloaded here.

For more information, please visit www.recyclepaper.co.za.

* This represents 70% of the 1.8 million tonnes of paper available for recovery and excludes books, archived records and unrecyclable paper like toilet tissue.

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South Africa successfully diverted 1.4 million tonnes of recyclable paper and paper packaging from landfill in 2016. This is equivalent to the weight of 280,000 adult African elephants or would cover 254 soccer fields.

The Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA) confirms that the annual paper recovery rate has sustained 2% year-on-year growth since 2012 and now stands at 68.4%[i].

“This surpasses the global average of 58%[ii],” says RecyclePaperZA operations director Ursula Henneberry, adding that recovered paper – the paper and cardboard put in our recycling bins – is a valuable raw material that South African manufacturers have been using as an alternative fibre since 1920.

“Despite this, newspapers, magazines, office paper, cardboard boxes, paper cups, milk and juice cartons still go to landfill,” says Henneberry.

Waste less, care more

Around 11% of people claim to recycle all the time[iii]. “Everyone uses paper products, so we should all be recyclers. It’s just the right thing to do.” It’s good for the environment. It saves landfill space, reduces unnecessary emissions and encourages a waste-conscious lifestyle. It’s good for our economy too, as it provides an income stream for street collectors and keeps paper recycling operations in business with a clean and good quality raw material to make the products we use daily.

From street collectors to the people employed in the sector, paper recycling creates meaningful employment for around 37,000 people.

Recycling is as easy as 1-2-3

While it may seem cumbersome at first, it only takes a little effort to develop ‘good garbage habits’. RecyclePaperZA shares three important tips:

1. Keep paper separate from wet waste – get a bin or box for paper and keep it in a convenient spot.
2. Get to know your recyclables – copy paper, magazines, flyers and newspapers; cereal, medicine and egg boxes, cardboard boxes and juice and milk cartons are all recyclable.
3. Have it collected or drop it off – support a collector, sign-up to a collection programme or find a drop-off point near you. Visit recyclepaper.co.za and click on the MyWaste widget on the home page.

Notes:

Given that land suitable for the commercial growing of trees is limited, virgin/new fibre is supplemented with recovered paper. On the other hand, an injection of virgin fibre is needed in the papermaking process because paper fibres shorten and weaken each time they are recycled.

The Paper Recycling Association of South Africa promotes paper recycling by increasing education and awareness on the recovery of paper and packaging materials reused in the manufacture of paper-based products. It works with community-based organisations, schools and businesses to share recycling’s many societal and environmental benefits. These include job creation, poverty alleviation, the creation of a clean, more sustainable environment and reduced costs to local authorities.

[i] 68.4% represents the percentage of paper products that can be recovered and excludes the likes of books and archived records, and items that are contaminated or destroyed when used; tissue, hygiene products and cigarette paper.

In 2001, the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA) reported a 38% paper recovery rate, a figure that rose to 59% in 2011. The association had projected paper recycling rates would rise to 63% by the end of 2017. By 2016 the paper and paper packaging industry well exceeded this with its 2015 figure of 66% of the nation’s recoverable paper and cardboard being recycled into new paper products.

[ii] International Council of Forest and Paper Associations, 2015

[iii] Consumer research conducted by PETC0, 2016

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But it is estimated that only 5% of South African households recycle their paper products. So what is the other 95% doing? Unfortunately their paper goes into the refuse bin and off to landfill.

Today a magazine, tomorrow a newspaper

Locally produced paper is made from plantation-grown trees, recycled paper fibre or sugar cane fibre, making recycled paper is a valuable resource in the paper and packaging chain. While 62% of paper is recovered in South Africa, just less than one million tonnes still end up in landfill, degrading with food waste and adding to greenhouse gas levels in the air we breathe.

By recycling paper, the carbon (absorbed as carbon dioxide by the trees) remains ‘locked up’ in the paper and out of the atmosphere for longer.

Sort your rubbish from your recyclables

The first step to paper recycling is getting to know your recyclables.

Get it collected or drop it off

Visit www.mywaste.co.za for collection programmes or drop-off sites in your area. Keep recyclables aside for an informal collector who walks your neighbourhood every week or contract the services of a small recycling business.

The post Got paper? Recycle it. first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

By recycling paper, milk and juice cartons, glass, aluminium and plastic, we contribute to less pollution and litter, and create a healthier, greener and cleaner society.

Top Tips for Aspiring Recyclers
Give these items a new lease on life:

• Office paper
• Magazines – even glossy magazines
• Cardboard boxes
• Cereal boxes and most boxes that you encase your groceries and medicinal items
• Juice, milk, custard  and liquid cartons (Tetrapak, Tetrabrik etc) – Simply rinse, flatten and place with your paper recycling
• Newspapers (best recycled within three months)

The following paper types cannot be recycled:

• Foil gift wrapping and foiled lined boxes
• Wax coated or laminated boxes such as frozen food boxes
• Empty cement and dog food bags
• Disposable nappies
• Carbon paper
• Sticky notes

Do not mix your paper with other recyclables.Do not let your paper get wet or soiled by other rubbish. Keep it under cover or in a closed plastic container.If you don’t have a formal recycling collection service or drop-off depot in your neighbourhood, consider putting your recyclables in clear plastic bags so that the people who sort through the piles of refuse on collection day are afforded some dignity by not having to trawl through your week’s household waste.

Do your research and find out which companies collect paper in your area. Visit www.mywaste.co.za for these details.

To find out more about recycling you can keep in touch with RecyclePaperZA on Twitter by following @PaperRocks_SA or visiting www.mywaste.co.za.

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