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Recycling waste paper is an environmentally friendly activity that just about anyone can take part in. Paper recycling saves water and electricity, and prevents unnecessary chemicals being introduced into the environment, which impacts climate change.
Recycling also prevents landfills being filled up with waste paper. In fact, for every 1 ton of paper recycled, 3 cubic metres of landfill are saved* and about 12 jobs created. In 2013, recycling efforts recovered 1.17 million tons of paper, the equivalent of saving landfill space of over 1 403 Olympic-size pools.**
“Paper consumed in homes, schools and offices represent the biggest opportunity to grow paper recycling in South Africa,” says Donna-Mari Noble, communications manager of Mpact Recycling, the leading paper recycler in South Africa. “In Springs we’re making it easy for people to recycle their used paper with strategically placed ‘Ronnie Bank’ paper banks at many sites around the city.”
Ronnie Banks are located at the following sites: Mpact Paper in Steel Road, New Era; Rus ‘n Bietjie Tuiste; Selcourt Primary School; St Catherine’s Nursery School; Protea School; Gereformeerde Kerk Springs-Oos; Klein Duimpie Kleuterskool; Kwasa Centre; Veritas Junior College; Veritas College (Senior); NG Kerk Springs Noord; Dr WK Du Plessis Skool; Springs Boys High School; Trinity Methodist Church Strubenvale and Jeugland Hoerskool.
“We also encourage schools to enrol in our paper pick-up programme, which allows them to raise funds, while educating young learners on the importance of recycling and, in turn, environmental awareness,” Noble adds.
Each learner is provided with a small “Ronnie Bag” to take home and fill up with recyclable paper based items such as old newspapers, magazines, letters, junk mail, envelopes and even cardboard packaging like cereal boxes that their households no longer use. They bring these bags back to school every week and place the waste material into a dedicated Ronnie Bank, which is collected on a regular basis.
Noble says this initiative has a positive effect at several levels. Not only does it provide a vehicle to dispose of waste paper and cardboard from the learners’ homes, but it also creates excitement around recycling and getting the school involved. Ultimately, it helps to prevent landfills being filled up with waste paper. The programme also educates the next generation on the importance of recycling, so that they will be conscientious recyclers as adults.
At each participating school, the Ronnie Recycler school programme is driven by a “Green Ambassador”, appointed from among the learners and through the involvement of the teachers. His or her role is to continually encourage fellow learners and teachers to collect recycled paper, to establish “eco” clubs and even to get their parents involved. More than 1,000 South African schools already take part in the Mpact Recycling schools programme.
Mpact Recycling collects approximately 450 000 tonnes of recovered paper per annum, and supplies this recovered fibre to the Group’s paper mills for processing into recycled-based cartonboard and containerboard for sale to South Africa’s packaging industry.
More information about Mpact Recycling’s various recycling programmes is available at www.MpactRecycling.co.za or call the company’s free number 0800 022 112 for recycling related queries.
* Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (PRASA.
** Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA)
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