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.

The post The ins and outs of paper recycling first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

“Sadly only 5% of homes actively recycle their paper and board,” says Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA) operations director Ursula Henneberry.

National Recycling Day on Friday, 14 September, is the perfect opportunity for South Africans to take a more active role in recycling, in the home and at the workplace.

The simplest way to green our future

Paper, one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable products, is made from farmed trees, just as your morning cereal was made from farmed wheat or corn. Plantation trees help to absorb carbon dioxide from and release life-giving oxygen into the atmosphere.

Trees, and thus paper and wood products, store this carbon as solid matter. By recycling paper, we can ensure that this carbon is kept out of the atmosphere for longer. Paper recycling is one of the simplest ways that we can green our future.

“If we do not recycle, paper will rot among other rubbish and emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide,” says Henneberry.

A tonne of recycled paper can save up to three cubic metres of landfill space and subsequently reduce transport costs for local municipalities.

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

1. Do your research and find out which companies collect paper in your area. Visit www.mywaste.co.za for these details.
2. Do not mix your paper with other recyclables.
3. Do not let your paper get wet or soiled by other rubbish. Keep it under cover or in a closed plastic container.
4. Get to know what is recyclable and what is not. 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

1. Remember that juice, milk and custard cartons ARE recyclable. Simply rinse, flatten and place with your paper recycling.
2. Newspapers are best recycled within three months.
3. 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.

Give paper a new lease on life

Paper can be recycled up to seven times. Some virgin or new wood fibre is required to make recycled paper possible in the first place and is always needed to keep the global fibre cycle going. But have you ever wondered where recyclable paper goes or what it becomes?

• Corrugated boxes and magazines = new corrugated boxes
• Newspapers, magazines = newspapers
• Office paper, newspapers, printer offcuts = tissue products, kitchen and industrial paper towelling
• Office paper, corrugated boxes, printer offcuts, cardboard trims = cereal boxes, soap cartons
• Newspaper, cardboard trims = moulded paper products such as egg boxes.
• Milk and juice cartons = board paper.

Next time you open your grocery cupboard or medicine cabinet, think about the role that paper plays in your life in its various and versatile forms.

The post Why we should be recycling our paper first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

A greenbelt is best described as natural, undeveloped land which has been demarcated and set aside within an urban or developed area for the purpose of improving the ecological health of the built-up region, and acting as a ‘green lung’. 

The term ‘green lung’ is used since the plants and trees in a greenbelt can absorb and process pollutants, both from water and from the air, as well as store carbon dioxide whilst releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere.  Worldwide deforestation has contributed largely to the present problem of global warming and by planting trees and maintaining greenbelts, we can help to reduce, and possibly even reverse the impact of this condition which threatens life on our planet.

Deidre Nxumalo-Freeman, President of the IWMSA says “In addition to helping to limit urban sprawl, these greenbelts also provide space for light recreational activities and for city dwellers in particular, to retain a sense of connectedness with the natural world.

“These projects can also serve to enhance and bring together communities” continues Nxumalo-Freeman, “Quite apart from adding aesthetic appeal to sometimes drab urban areas and townships, trees play a crucial role in offsetting our carbon emissions, and from a practical point of view, they can provide resources in terms of shade, shelter and not least, food.

“Who can forget the inspirational Wangari Maathai who almost single-handedly changed the ecological landscape of her country, Kenya, in a bid to address the challenges presented by deforestation there?  Without trees, we too would face the prospect of soil erosion and a lack of water amongst a myriad other problems.

“The IWMSA encourages South Africans to recognise the importance of maintaining and continuously growing and improving our greenbelts and during this Arbour Week, to make an effort to plant a tree, whether at a school, in a garden or a community centre.  This simple action when undertaken by many has the potential to positively affect our quality of life” concludes Nxumalo-Freeman.

Every Arbour Week in South Africa, several species of tree are highlighted and in 2012, there are three: one common tree, the water berry or Waterbessie (Syzgium cordatum), and two rare trees, the Red Beech or Rooiboekenhout (Protorhus longifolia), and the Black Mangrove or Swartwortelboom (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza).

The IWMSA focuses on providing education and training for its members, as well as other interested parties, whether private individuals or government entities.

Source:

IWMSA – a non-profit organisation comprising a body of dedicated professionals in their respective fields, who give freely and voluntarily of their time and expertise in order to effectively educate, promote and further the science and practice of waste management.  For more information, visit: www.iwmsa.co.za

The post Green lungs help us breathe better first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Pick paper. It’s the sustainable choice.

The post The convenient truth first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).