More than 13 million tonnes of paper and paper packaging have been recovered for recycling in South Africa over the past decade. This is according to the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) as the world marks Global Recycling Day on March 18th.

This has saved nearly 40 million cubic metres*[i] of landfill space, and put paper and cardboard back into the recycling loop as a useful raw material in paper packaging and tissue manufacturing. These 40 million cubic metres would cover 2,411 football fields or 1,708 rugby pitches, or fill 15,900 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

In 2024, the South Africa paper recycling industry recovered 1.2 million tonnes of paper products. “This is from an available pool[ii] of 1.95 million tonnes of recyclable products such as magazines, brochures, newspapers, corrugated boxes, paper bags and office paper,” says Samantha Choles, communications manager of PAMSA.

While a paper recycling rate of 60% is on par with the global average, there are many paper products that don’t get a second life because they end up in dustbins alongside wet and rotting materials or as litter in the environment,” notes Choles.

She adds that greater awareness and conscientious action will drive a culture of separating our household waste from recyclables. “There are several easy steps we can all take to make sure that our recyclables are not added to the mountains of waste in our landfills but are rather put to good use.”

Have a simple separation system

Keep your rubbish and recyclables in separate bins. This ensures that your recyclable paper and cardboard will not get wet or dirty, and will stay in an good condition until it gets to the recycling mill. These can be around the house too; not just in the kitchen.

Know what can and can’t be recycled

Not all paper and packaging products are recyclable. This is because some products have been treated to perform functions and cannot be processed by recycling mills. Certain non-paper materials can cause blockages and damage to paper recycling machines.

YES PLEASE

• Office/copy paper
• Brown cardboard boxes
• Grocery and takeaway bags
• Cereal boxes, medicine boxes, etc.
• Pizza boxes
• Magazines and newspaper
• Egg boxes and moulded fibre cup holders
• Cores from toilet rolls, kitchen towel, clingwrap and tinfoil.
• Milk and juice cartons

NO THANKS

• Tissue and toilet paper
• Kitchen towel and paper handtowels
• Plastic coated or waxed paper/cardboard such as frozen food boxes.
• Laminated office paper
• Metallic or plastic-coated gift wraps and bags
• Nappies and feminine hygiene products
• Soggy and dirty paper plates
• You can also find information here.

Separate different materials

Many packaging items contain a mix of materials such as boxes with plastic windows, notebooks with metal spirals, and packaging with staples or sticky labels. You should remove the non-paper elements before put them into the recycling.

Get it back into the recycling system

If you don’t live in a municipality that provides a recycling collection service, there are few more extra steps you will need to take.

Put your recycling out for your neighbourhood recycling collectors

White paper, brown cardboard boxes, cereal boxes and even used milk and juice cartons will be gratefully received by recycling collectors. Not only are you doing a service for the environment, you are supporting someone’s livelihood. They will also collect other products such as soft drink cans and plastic bottles, tin cans, and a variety of plastic items. Find out what they collect and put these in a separate bag for them.

Support recycling collection businesses

There are a number of small business that offer a paid service to collect your recyclables. This will require a bit of research online, or by word of mouth. These enterprises will usually provide a list of what they will take.

Check your local shopping centre

Some shopping centres and malls have a recycling zone where consumers can drop off their recyclables.

Look for other recycling programmes to support

There are variety of recycling initiatives that help fund several causes, from bread tags and bottle tops for wheelchairs, and glass recycling for animal welfare. Check the Internet or social media for some avenues.

“Small steps by a lot of people across the country will make a massive positive impact on our environment, our economy and our social conscience,” concludes Choles.

WATCH how paper is sorted and recycled.