CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT NEWS Keep recycling – South Africa’s paper recycling rate is on the up During 2020, South Africans recycled 1.1 2. Keep paper products clean and dry million tonnes of paper and paper packaging, by making a paper-only bin or box putting the country’s latest paper recovery Put this in an accessible place, preferably rate at 73%, up from 68.5% in 2019. near your current rubbish bin. Space permitting, you may want to have a smaller This is according to RecyclePaperZA, the paper-only bins around the house – kitchen, paper recycling association, which states that South Africa has kept 19 million tonnes bathroom (for cosmetic boxes and toilet roll cores), garage, etc. of paper out of landfills over the past 15 years, enough to cover 3 456 soccer fields.
3. Know your recyclables
“This is a fantastic achievement, but there is Recyclable paper products: always room for improvement. With more • Milk, beverage and food cartons (liquid companies moving to paper packaging for their products, consumers need to play board packaging) their part too,” says RecyclePaperZA general • Office paper (preferably not shredded), manager Anele Sololo. envelopes • Big brown cardboard boxes Sololo believes that Earth Day, on 22 April, • Pizza boxes is a good opportunity for citizens, schools • Cereal boxes, cosmetic and medicine and businesses to be more proactive in boxes, toilet roll cores terms of waste and recycling. “Firstly, • Books (if they can’t be donated or are don’t drop or dump your rubbish. Keep obsolete) your rubbish with you until you find a bin. Secondly, recycle in your homes, businesses • Paper gift wrap and schools!” • Paper cups • Magazines and brochures, including Recycling, often termed ‘separation at glossy varieties source’, involves separating your wet waste • Newspapers from recyclables such as paper, paper packaging, plastic, glass, tin and even Remember to remove any non-paper electronic waste so that these materials can packaging (e.g., plastic windows) from the be reprocessed into new products. paper or cardboard. “By recycling we not only reduce the Not recyclable in the paper waste stream burden on our landfills and support livelihoods, we are also more mindful of Some paper products are not recyclable the waste we create and where it should because of contamination, finishes – in the be going,” notes Sololo. “In a world where case of laminates and foils – or because packaging pollution clogs its waterways we simply don’t have the appropriate and rubbish lines the streets, recycling is processing facilities in South Africa. something that citizens can do to bring about a cleaner South Africa.” • Used paper plates, disposable nappies, tissues and toilet paper Sololo adds that her team has put together • Wax-coated, foil-lined or laminated five tips to making more paper and paper boxes (unless stipulated) packaging gets into the recycling loop: • Used cement bags • Used dog food bags 1. If you are not already recycling, choose one material that you are going • Foil gift wrapping to start with • Carbon paper • Laminated paper “Naturally, we want people to start with paper because it’s something we use every • Backing paper from adhesive labels day,” says Sololo. Once you get the hang of 4. Do something with your recycling it, start recycling plastic, glass or tin. 176 responsible traveller
