The basic message is short and simple: Recycle this product – whether it be a box, a brochure or a document.

RecyclePaperZA’s primary aim is to reduce the amount of recoverable and recyclable paper that goes into South African landfills every day. It does this by raising awareness around what is recyclable and how to recycle, thereby progressively increasing paper recovery rates from households, businesses and schools.

Progress is being made

RecyclePaperZA reports that in 2015 South Africans recycled more than 1.2 million tonnes of paper – a volume equivalent to 3.6 million cubic metres of landfill space. In support of this very positive trend, RecyclePaperZA has developed a set of graphics that can easily merge into the design of packaging materials, flyers, posters and other printed items to prompt consumers to recycle rather than discard. They are available Adobe Illustrator, EPS and Jpeg formats.

“There are still many people who do not know what is recyclable. By printing these graphics on the very products that need to be separated from wet and non-recyclable waste, we hope that they will add to our awareness efforts,” says operations director Ursula Henneberry.

“Paper is a completely renewable resource, and it is in fact by using paper products that we benefit the environment. This is because paper companies farm trees – as one would a crop of wheat or maize – for the purpose of making paper,” she says.

Why recycling is important

The recycling process itself reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Here’s why: Within its molecular structure, paper contains the carbon which the trees had absorbed from the environment. If paper fibres are recycled – even up to seven times – the carbon remains intact. If paper is discarded into landfills, it degrades and carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere.

Another big benefit of recycling is job creation – from the people who walk the streets collecting recyclables to bigger companies that employ individuals to collect and sort recyclables. More than 150,000 people have jobs, because trees are farmed and paper products are made and recycled.

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The Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA) calls on all South Africans – from schoolchildren to pensioners – to do their bit by recycling paper products at school, home and work for drop-off at local recycling depots or gathering by collectors who earn a living by selling it back to mills.

“Paper and cardboard are items we touch and use every day – in the kitchen and bathroom, in the classroom and at the office – from printed copy paper, magazines, flyers and newspapers to cereal boxes and juice and milk cartons,” says RecyclePaperZA operations director Ursula Henneberry. “Millions of people choose to recycle every day, which helps the local paper industry to make lots of new products and create meaningful employment.”

“Ordinary people don’t have much control over pressing global environmental challenges and their capacity to help solve these issues is limited. However, the one thing that we can all do to make a difference is recycle,” she adds.

The benefits are numerous, and it just takes a little bit of effort to develop “good garbage habits”.

GOLDEN RULES FOR PAPER RECYCLING

As a starting point, it is important to remember paper recycling’s five golden rules:

• Get to know what paper products are recyclable and which are not.
• Separate your recyclables from wet waste. Paper items that are wet (used paper plates) or soiled (tissues and disposable nappies) cannot be recycled.
• Take a second to separate any non-paper packaging from paper or cardboard.
• Always keep paper clean and dry as this ensures a quality fibre for use in making new products.
• Invest in or make a paper-only bin or box for easy sorting.

RECYCLING AT HOME:

• Space permitting, you may want to have a few paper bins around the house.
• Decide what you want to do with your recyclables – have them collected or drop them off?
• Strike up a conversation with a waste collector in your suburb and make an arrangement to have them collect your paper and cardboard on a convenient day.
• Keep a box or crate in your car so that you can do a weekly drop-off on the way to work or run other errands.
• Make family, friends and visitors aware that you recycle.

AT SCHOOL:

• Enrol in a paper recycling programme and raise funds for your school.
• Actively encourage parents to drop off their recycling during their school runs.
• Place clearly marked, brightly coloured recycling receptacles in classrooms and on the school grounds.
• Contact RecyclePaperZA for a presentation to share the value of recycling with teachers and learners.

AT WORK:

• Place paper-only bins for easy separation from other recyclables and wet waste, especially in areas where paper disposal is likely to take place – at desks, photocopiers and printers and in communal kitchens.
• Mark recycling receptacles clearly or perhaps use a colour-coding system.
• Find out what your company wants to do with recyclables – have them collected or dropped off?
• Support a local small business or informal collector by arranging for them to collect the office recyclable paper, boxes and other paper packaging.
• Make staff and visitors aware of the office-recycling programme. It may take regular education and encouragement, and some fun incentives.
•  Once you get the hang of paper recycling, start separating other recyclables, like plastic, cans and glass, aerosols and electronic waste. You could also try composting organic kitchen waste to go even greener.

Lastly, pay it forward and get friends and family to recycle too.

PAPER RECYCLING IN SOUTH AFRICA. THE NUMBERS.

• In 2014, 64% of South Africa’s recoverable paper was collected for recycling. This equated to 1.1 million tonnes, enough to fill 1,276 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Only 5% of households conscientiously recycle their paper.
• Recycling just a tonne of paper removes the need for three cubic metres of landfill space.

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.recyclepaper.co.za

www.mywaste.co.za

www.recycling.co.za

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Organisations like the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA) are working towards a ‘recycling-minded’ society by teaching ordinary people how they can make an extraordinary difference – with everyday items.

“Separating paper and cardboard products from home, school and office waste and keeping it aside for conversion into other products has many benefits, both for the environment and the people who make a living by collecting recyclables and selling them on to buy-back centres and paper manufacturers,” says RecyclePaperZA operations director Ursula Henneberry.

RENEWABLE AND RECYCLABLE

The paper products we come into daily contact with – ranging from office paper and newspapers, medicine boxes and magazines, juice and milk cartons to cardboard cores from toilet rolls – can all be recycled.

They are also completely renewable because, at some point, their fibre would have come from sustainably and responsibly farmed trees that are planted, grown, harvested and replanted in cycles.

Recycling also keeps the carbon originally stored in the wood fibre of trees locked in paper products and out of the atmosphere for longer.

Unfortunately large quantities of paper still end up in landfills, which are rapidly running out of space, and add to greenhouse gas emissions when paper decomposes with other waste.

“During 2014, 64% of recoverable paper was recycled, 2% more than in 2013 and 5% more than in 2012,” says Henneberry. “For every tonne of paper recycled, up to three cubic metres of landfill space is saved – land that could be better used for housing, agriculture and infrastructure. During 2014, South Africans recycled 1.1 million tonnes, enough to fill 1,276 Olympic-sized swimming pools.”

But we need to do more. It is estimated that only 5% of households recycle paper.

RecyclePaperZA advises that householders keep recyclables aside for an informal collector who walks your neighbourhood every week. “This increases the quality of the recyclables, allowing the collector to earn a little more.”

TRASH IS TREASURE

“In a country with high unemployment rates and accompanying poverty, paper recycling is becoming a source of revenue for a growing number of people. An estimated 35,000 people put food on their tables by walking the streets to collect ‘waste’ in return for cash or work for larger companies to recover, sort and weigh recyclables for conversion into usable and commercially viable products.

The pulp and paper manufacturing industry is a key sector in the South African economy. Importantly, it employs a workforce of more than 150,000 people across the value chain – from forestry, to pulp and paper manufacturing to informal collectors. These people in turn collectively feed, clothe and school around 900,000 dependants.

“Companies that produce paper products run major mills specifically designed to turn today’s phonebooks, magazines, notepads, company minutes, milk cartons and cereal boxes into tomorrow’s egg containers, corrugated boxes and board, newspapers and tissue products,” states Henneberry.

“Some 65% of recovered paper is used as fibre, without which these mills would stand idle, unable to manufacture the pulp used to produce materials for products manufactured in South Africa and exported around the world.”

You can get involved by separating all kinds of refuse, starting with paper and moving on to plastics, glass and cans.

Paper products you can recycle:

• all office paper
• coloured paper
• newspaper, magazines (even glossy ones)
• catalogues, phonebooks
• direct marketing leaflets
• cardboard packaging of all kinds, shapes and sizes – boxes used for moving; electronics, shoes, gifts and cereal
• paper towel and toilet paper cores
• food packaging (unwaxed only please)
• shredded paper (in plastic bag to minimize blow-away)
• milk, juice and liquid cartons (should be empty)
• books: all soft cover, hard or plastic covers should be ripped off
• pizza boxes (food and wax paper removed)
• brown paper bags

Remember, paper should be separated from wet waste so it does not get contaminated.

Paper products you shouldn’t recycle

• Tissue paper and paper towel
• Wax paper
• Used cement and dog food bags
• Disposable nappies
• Plastic lined papers
• Foil lined papers

RECYCLING PROGRAMMES

• Visit mywaste.co.za for programmes in your area.
  • Enrol in a free kerbside collection programme.
  • Find a drop-off centre near your home or office, usually at local shopping centres.
• Check with local community centres, places of worship or schools if they have a paper recycling programme from which they benefit financially.
• Contract the services of a small recycling business.

Clean-up SA and Recycle Week takes place between September 14 and 18, and National Recycling Day is celebrated on Friday, September 18. International Coastal Clean-up Day takes place on Saturday, 19 September.

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It is estimated that only 5% of South African households recycle their paper and cardboard. So what is the other 95% doing with it?

A significant amount of recyclable paper is going to landfill every year. This paper degrades along with other food waste, adding to the levels of greenhouse gases in the air we breathe. Methane is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In some cases, paper is incinerated, also causing air pollution.

By recycling paper, the carbon (originally stored by trees in the wood fibre) remains ‘locked up’ – and out of the atmosphere – for longer. It also saves landfill space. In 2013 1,2 million tonnes of paper were collected for recycling saving 3,5 million cubic metres of landfill space – the equivalent of 1,403 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

So this National Recycling Day – 19 September 2014 – why not make a commitment to start recycling paper?

Here are a few tips from the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa to get you started:
• Invest a paper-only bin or box in your home or office for easy recycling.

• Keep your paper clean and dry.

• Not all paper can be recycled so get to know your recyclables.

− Recyclable: magazines (including the glossy variety), newspapers, brochures, office paper, shredded paper, cardboard (cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, medicine boxes, pizza boxes, tissue boxes) and cartonboard, liquid board packaging including beverage and food cartons.

− Not recyclable: wet, soiled paper such as used paper plates, disposable nappies, tissues and toilet paper; foil, gift wrapping, carbon paper; wax-coated, foil-lined or laminated boxes; used cement and dog food bags.

• Find a recycling collection programme or drop-off point near you by visiting www.mywaste.co.za. Many schools and community organisations earn money from recyclable paper collection. Support these initiatives.

• Support job creation by keeping your recyclables aside for an informal collector who walks your neighbourhood every week. This increases the quality of the recyclables and the collector could earn a little more for better quality.

• Don’t let the recycling pile get too big before you drop it off – keep a box/crate in your boot so you can do a weekly drop-off when you do your shopping or run other errands.

• Always keep in mind that you are recycling for a good reason – the future of our planet. This should be motivation enough to keep you going!
For more information on paper and paper recycling, visit www.thepaperstory.co.za. You can also follow @PaperRocks_SA on Twitter.

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Food migration issues have arisen as a result of packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks contain mineral oil as solvents, as do many commercial printing inks. During the recycling process only 90% of the printing ink components can be removed.  If these substrates are used for food packaging applications, the mineral oil compounds can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when an inner bag is used. Especially dry and greasy foods such as rice, pasta, cereal and chocolate products are affected.

Developed in partnership with BASF and Eurofins, the innovative flexpack substrate received very positive market feedback following its introduction at Fachpack 2013. Brand owners are now able to use their current recycled fibre based folding boxes, shelf ready packs and transport boxes.  The food inside will be protected by inner bags, pouches and sachets made from Sappi mineral oil barrier papers such as:

• Leine Guard M for inner bags combines Machine Glazed Bleached Kraft (MGBK) paper with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side. It is available in 80 g/m²  to 120 g/m².
• Algro Guard M has been designed for gravure printed primary packaging such as pouches, sachets, bags and wrappers, and is available in 90 g/m² to 140 g/m². This grade incorporates a blade coating on the top side for gravure printability with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side.

AlgroGuard M and Leine Guard M protect packaged food from mineral oil compounds that are a complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (MOAH). This new mineral oil barrier functionality protect food for minimum 15 months; and as there is no use of PET or aluminium, it is a sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost effective material.

Efficient and sustainable substrate

“The integrated solution of mineral oil barrier functionality combined with excellent heat sealing properties minimise converting process steps and considerably reduce costs in the supply chain.” comments René Köhler, Product Group Manager Flexpack Sappi Fine Paper Europe.  In addition the integrated and recyclable paper grade solution is providing superior converting properties. Test have shown that the grades offering also a barrier against aroma and grease. As a result, Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M are highly efficient and sustainable mineral oil barrier packaging solutions for the food industry. Sappi Algro^® Guard M and Leine^® Guard M, will become commercially available beginning of June of 2014.

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Climate change and sustainability are two of the biggest issues facing society today. It is therefore increasingly important for companies to reduce their environmental impact of products and services through their whole life cycle. Companies failing to address environmental performance in product design and development will find it increasingly difficult to compete in the global market.

Download:  Design For Recycling Guide Book

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Further feedback showed that most customers assume that all packaging is recyclable as long as it has a material symbol on the label, which is of course not the case. The South African recycling sector doesn’t yet have the appropriate technology and infrastructure to recycle certain materials, and current labels do not share information on what is and isn’t being recycled..

In other instances, customers were not aware that despite their efforts to recycle, they were contaminating recyclable material streams through incorrect disposal. For example, they weren’t aware that certain packaging components should be separated from the pack in order for other components to be recycled successfully.

Too much waste going to landfill

The lack of consumer-friendly recycling labels, insufficient information for customers and high levels of contamination result in lower rates of recycling with too much recyclable material still making its way to landfill sites. According to the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA) National Waste Information Baseline Report released in 2012, about 108 million tonnes of waste is generated in South Africa. Of that, only about 10% was recycled and the remaining 90% disposed at landfill.

WastePlan, a South African recycling company, reports that of the 150 000 households that participate in their recycling programme, more than 10% of recyclable material become non-recyclable due to contamination. According to Bertie Lourens, Managing Director of WastePlan: “We’ve seen many kerb-side recycling initiatives in the sector fail due to increasing transport and labour costs which combine to make the service uneconomical. As customers become more informed about recycling, more people will participate and the quality of material collected will improve. Initiatives such as consumer-friendly recycling labels will help to boost the local industry.”

Reducing customer confusion

Woolworths believes that South Africa’s recycling and resource recovery rates can be significantly improved by reducing customer confusion and replacing the current symbols with standardised icons on its products.

The new OPRL provides customers with simple icons and messaging showing each component of the packaging; the type of material it is made from (including what sustainable materials have been used in the packaging); and the likelihood of each element of the packaging being widely recycled in South Africa, or not.

“Using the same icons on packaging designs across the retail and waste management sector will improve the rate of recycling by making it easier for customers to participate. Our aim is for the design of the Woolworths on-pack recycling label to become the adopted standard for all packaging in South Africa,” says Kiril Dimitrov, Woolworths Foods Packaging Manager.

“Currently too much recyclable packaging still makes its way to landfill. By giving customers the information they need to take action, we can ensure that more of the materials that can be recycled, are in fact recycled. This label gives consumers the information they need to make the right choices when they sort and dispose of recyclable products. Most of our customers want to recycle; these labels make it easier for them to make informed decisions,” Dimitrov adds..

The Woolworths on-pack recycling label was launched in November 2013 and can already be seen in-store on a select number of product lines. Woolworths aims to have at least 20% of its products displaying the new label by March 2014. Introduction of the new on-pack recycling label will be phased in as designs change or new product lines are introduced.

“Our approach to packaging is about achieving the right balance between ensuring that products remain protected and, in the case of food, that the product remains safe and hygienic. Our packaging also extends the shelf life for as long as possible so that additional food waste is not created. This means that we are committed to using packaging responsibly,” Dimitrov concludes.

Charles Muller of the Packaging Council of South Africa (PACSA) says, “This new label design shows leading retailers are prepared to go above and beyond what is expected of them to support customers’ environmental efforts. We’re encouraged to see Woolworths taking the first step and calling on the rest of the industry to follow suit.”

The design of the Woolworths on-pack recycling label is currently supported by a number of industry associations, including PACSA, RecyclePaperZA, Plastics SA, SAPRO, Collect-a-can, The Glass Recycling Company, PETCO, POLYCO, Wasteman and WastePlan.

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Setting the theme of innovation and sustainability, keynote speaker Bruce Strong (CEO of Mpact) reminded delegates of the importance of the pulp and paper industry to every South African. Through the manufacture of the paper, packaging and tissue products that we each use every day, the industry makes a substantial contribution to the country’s GDP. Local pulp and paper sales of R16.35 billion and pulp and paper exports of R9.2 billion (PAMSA 2012) have helped contribute 7.7% to the Manufacturing GDP (excluding roundwood sales). Furthermore, many rural South Africans are directly or indirectly dependent upon the forestry sector for an income, the key beneficiator of which is the pulp and paper industry.

Another key discussion point at the 2013 TAPPSA National Conference was the lack of public knowledge about the unique contribution that the South African pulp and paper industry makes to the environment. It is little known that it is one of the very few industries in the world to be quantified as carbon positive – meaning that, over the entire supply chain, it absorbs more C0₂ than it releases into the atmosphere.

Beginning at its plantations, the local pulp and paper industry is inherently sustainable. As an agricultural crop, its plantations are cyclically harvested and replanted with in excess of 260 000 trees planted every day. The 762 000 hectares of forestry plantations planted for pulp and paper production act as atmospheric carbon sinks, locking up millions of tonnes of C0₂ in its paper products. Not printing an email in order to save a tree is the equivalent of not eating bread to save wheat, and is a complete fallacy – the harvesting and planting of trees plays a vital role in capturing greenhouse gases and in providing biodegradable and recyclable end-products.

Even its manufacturing processes inherently reduce global warming. As one of the largest producers of renewable biomass fuel in South Africa, the pulp and paper industry avoids the use of 1,3 million tons of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas each year, therefore reducing its carbon emissions significantly too.

In addition to its production of biomass, conference speakers discussed the opportunities offered by CoGeneration in the pulp and paper industry, the feasibility of generating income from a number of by-products and numerous exciting R&D initiatives by research centres such as Sappi Technology Centre, CSIR and the University of Stellenbosch. The conference also included presentations on energy and paper production optimisation within pulp and paper mills by international and local technology leaders Andritz, Metso, ABB, PMT, BASF and Hitachi Power Systems.

While one cannot deny the ease of digital media and electronic technology, it is essential to keep in mind that refraining from using paper products will not save the environment. Instead, the 2013 TAPPSA National Conference & Exhibition has clarified that buying local paper products will not only continue the industry’s important role in scientific research and rural employment, but that the simplest way for any one of us to contribute to reducing climate change is to use paper products.

TAPPSA is instrumental in the sharing and promotion of top technologies and technical skills across South Africa’s pulp and paper mills. For more information on TAPPSA and its activities, visit www.tappsa.co.za. To learn more about the positive contribution that the pulp and paper industry makes to South Africa, visit www.thepaperstory.co.za.

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