SA Enviro News: Survey Reveals 32% Increase in Recycling, Positive Impact on Economy

In June 2011, the South African Plastic Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) released the results of its first annual SA Plastics Recycling survey in collaboration with the South African Plastics Federation. The survey showed that South Africans are gradually “going green” with a 32% increase in their recycling habits over the last four years. The survey covered a four year period from 2006 to the end of 2009.
With the increase in recycling habits, comes an increase in job creation and a welcome reduction to the country’s carbon footprint.
“Without this industry there would be more than 35,000 employees who would not have work and the industry is growing steadily with more and more manufacturers being created, which is creating more jobs,” says Annabe Pretorius, General Manager for SAPRO.
According to the study, there are 200 to 220 plastics recycling manufacturers in South Africa who employ 4,800 people (directly) creating 35,000 jobs (indirectly) who have an annual payroll of R250-million.
In addition, there are many jobs that are indirectly supported by recycling as collection would entail waste picking, sorting and compacting/baling jobs.
According to Pretorius, recycling contributes towards lowering the price of certain plastic products. Without, recycling, some products would be at least 20% more expensive, e.g. carrier bags, refuse bags, furniture shrouds, irrigation piping, etc. In addition, municipalities would run out of landfill space sooner and would have to develop more landfill space.
The survey revealed that 28,9% of all plastics packaging was recycled during the measured period, translating into 165 772 tons of packaging. 48,8% of all recyclable materials was obtained from post-consumer sources, including landfills.
Recycling a ton of waste has twice the economic impact of burying it in the ground. In addition, recycling one additional ton of waste will pay R1095 per ton more in salaries, produce R4905 more in goods and services, and generate R1.3-million more in sales than disposing of it in a landfill.
Rory Murray, marketing director at Tuffy Brands advises that in order to support recycling efforts, consumers need to check the labels of products and look for products that are made from high percentages of ‘post-consumer’ waste. “We take recyclable materials out of the environment and reuse them, so essentially cutting down on rubbish ending up in a landfill site which is essentially better for the environment.”
Tuffy pioneered refuse bags on a roll in SA and runs 6,000 tons of material through its plant every year, equating to 240 million refuse bags. The company manufactures all its black refuse bags from 100% recycled material, 70% of which is post consumer.
The Complete Survey is available from the Plastics Federation of South Africa, Dianne Blumberg can be contacted on 011 314 4021 for more details.