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

The post South Africa’s paper recycling rate rises to 68.4% first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

The Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (RecyclePaperZA), operating as a subsidiary of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA), has for the past 13 years promoted recovered and recycled paper fibre as a vital link in the renewability chain.

Paper products are renewable because they are made from plantation-grown trees that have been planted, grown and harvested in cycles – and then the land is renewed with new trees which in time will provide a fresh fibre supply.

Through the process of photosynthesis the trees from which paper is made absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen. Retained carbon remains locked inside the wood fibre throughout the paper-making process.

Paper is also recyclable – what was your newspaper yesterday may be part of a cardboard box next month.

In 2014, 64% of recoverable paper was collected for recycling which means that more than one million tonnes of paper was collected, helping to reduce pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.

However if paper products are sent to landfill, they combine with materials like food waste and degrade. This process releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. One such gas is methane which is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Beyond the environment

But in SA, paper recycling goes beyond environmental sustainability as countless people turn to the recovery and on-sale of recyclables to make a modest living.

RecyclePaperZA, with financial assistance from the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing sector education and training authority (FP&M Seta), presents entrepreneurship training courses.

From major cities to outlying rural towns, RecyclePaperZA has empowered over 3,300 informal collectors empowering them with the knowledge and skills required to start and run a sustainable small business within the recycling domain. Collectors attend the courses free of charge.

Higher prices are paid for separated, good quality recyclables and thus the importance of separating at source is stressed during the course.

Empowering and encouraging everyday citizens

RecyclePaperZA cites a number of entrepreneur success stories. Lydia Anderson-Jardine who attended the course in 2011 in Cape Town soon secured the contract to collect all paper from the City of Cape Town municipal offices as well as Somerset Hospital. Employing 21 people and recovering nearly 120 tons of paper monthly, Lydia’s success inspired her son Rowen to partner with Elim Night Shelter in Elsiesrivier and establish the Wastewant Youth Recycling Cooperative. The project seeks to remove unemployed youth from the grips of drug and alcohol abuse by providing them with a stable opportunity to earn an income.

In SA’s KwaZulu-Natal province the Udondolo recycling cooperative in Cato Manor, outside Durban was established after three people from the cooperative attended the RecyclePaperZA training, and shared their skills with others.  The project now employs approximately 23 people, ranging in age from 23 to 72. Udondolo beneficiaries have even started hand-making secondary products from some of the recyclables they collect. “They are more conscious about the waste in their community and that waste is not really waste at all,” said Beryl Shezi from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Students in Free Enterprise organisation.

The entrepreneurship course offering has been embraced by many municipalities across SA who have invited RecyclePaperZA to present one-day workshops to municipal employees and collectors. By working with all tiers of government to inform policy, educate officials, and upskill communities, RecyclePaperZA is part of creating more effective, efficient waste management systems.

The post Recycling: good for the environment and economy first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).