MPACT Recycling’s popular kerbside paper collection initiative is active in more than 200 000 homes in designated areas within Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, effectively collecting unwanted magazines, newspapers, cardboard and paper products (cereal boxes, soap boxes and printed paper) directly from people’s homes for recycling into other useful products.
Residents in these areas receive a green Ronnie bag in which to place their recycled material. The bags, left on the kerbside on designated days, are collected on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and a new green Ronnie bag is left in its place for the next cycle.
Mpact Recycling’s mascot, Ronnie Recycler, is calling on all residents in the target areas to take part in the programme by recycling the paper they collect at home to benefit the environment and build a future for others through job creation.
Kerbside collections were first initiated in 1991 and today independent ‘owner drivers’ do the collections. Mpact Recycling along with the owner drivers have added more collection areas, bringing in greater tonnages. But we need your help to take this further. The more paper you put out into your Ronnie bags, the more you will be doing your bit for the environment.
Today Mpact Recycling’s kerbside collections, provided at no cost to the householder, pick up 700 tons per month of waste paper products from the Johannesburg area alone. The waste paper goes to Mpact’s paper mills for processing into recycled-based cartonboard and containerboard for sale to South Africa’s packaging industry
Householders can discard any form of paper, such as old letters, photocopying paper, newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, cereal and soap boxes, books and envelopes, as well as flattened cardboard boxes into the Ronnie bags. Items that cannot be recycled include polystyrene containers, paper cups and plates, yoghurt cartons, sweet and chip wrappers, blueprint paper, cigarette butts, carbon paper, tissues and paper towels, Post-it notes and waxed cartons, such as frozen fish cartons. These items generally contain plastics, grease and other compounds that cannot be recycled to produce cartonboard and newsprint.
“South Africa is among the world’s most sustainable and responsible pulp and paper producers,” said John Hunt, managing director of Mpact Recycling. “Paper consumed in homes and offices represents the biggest opportunity to grow paper recycling in South Africa. I would like to encourage more householders to take part in our kerbside collections and help us expand this important initiative. Recycling programmes such as this represent a future for others through job creation and have direct benefits for the environment. One ton of paper equates to three cubic metres of landfill space, which can be saved by recycling.
“Our kerbside collections have made recycling easy. All you have to do is discard paper waste into your Ronnie bags and put the bags on the pavement outside your house according to the collection calendar for your area.”
“Every one of us has the potential to make a difference simply by separating and sorting our recyclables when we discard them. From there, recyclables go out onto the kerbside for collection in certain areas, or they go into paper banks at schools and community centres, or they move to the trolley pushers who sell them onto places like buy-back centres. ”
If Mpact Recycling does not offer kerbside collections in your area, be sure to look out for its bright green paper banks, or ‘Ronnie Banks’ located at waste paper drop-off points at schools, churches and community centres in many areas throughout the country.
For further information on Mpact Recycling visit www.mpactrecycling.co.za or call them on toll free number – 0800 022 112.
