Recycling can be a great contributor to the South African economy with job creation opportunities and direct benefits to the environment. Maryke Foulds asks John Hunt, managing director of Mpact Recycling, to take us through the process.

Recycling rates are distressingly low among South African households and businesses. Hunt explains that paper consumed in people’s homes and offices represents the biggest opportunity to grow paper recycling in South Africa. Currently only 5% of all paper collected for recycling comes from households and 1% from community depots.

“Recycling participation rates range between 20 and 30%, and such low rates threaten the viability of continued recycling collections,” he says.

Low rates of recycling have a direct impact on employment. “People don’t realise that when they recycle, they are creating a future for others through job creation and direct benefits to the environment. This alone should be a great motivator for more households and businesses to participate in recycling programmes,” says Hunt.

Mpact’s recycling division currently has seven sites across the country and 42 buy-back centres where traders deliver waste for payment. It also buys from more than 90 independent dealers throughout the country.

“We have empowered over 40 entrepreneurial companies to facilitate the company’s collection strategies,” says Hunt.

He suggests that a great way to start recycling is with paper. “Recycling paper, which includes cardboard, old newspapers, magazines, outdated directories or schoolbooks, is a simple process that goes a long way to reducing the impact on landfill sites, creating employment and reusing items that are simple to sort and recycle from home,” says Hunt.

Businesses are also encouraged to join the broader community in paper recycling. “Mpact has different recycling programmes for businesses of all sizes,” concludes Hunt.