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CONTACT US

PAPER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 (0) 11 803 5063
Fax: +27 (0) 11 803 6708
Email: Info

PAMSA DOES NOT SELL, SUPPLY OR DISTRIBUTE PAPER PRODUCTS. PLEASE CONTACT OUR MEMBERS DIRECTLY FOR SUPPLY, QUOTATIONS OR SALES ENQUIRIES BY CLICKING HERE: Members

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
Unit 4, Woodview Office Park
1 Humber Road
Woodmead, Sandton

POSTAL ADDRESS:
PO Box 1553
Rivonia 2128

Samantha Choles
#paperpartofmylife, economy, environment, Paper, recyclabe, renewable, versatile
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Latest News & Features

Five reasons why paper rocks

Boxes. Labels. Books. Your child’s first report card. A tissue for their first heartbreak. It’s paper – a renewable, recyclable material that is an inextricable, often invisible part of our lives. Think about it…from the moment we wake up to when we nod off with a book in hand, paper is there.

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) shares the reasons why paper is good for us, our economy and our environment.

1. It’s versatile

Paper is categorised into three principal types – printing and writing, packaging and tissue – and chances are that we use each kind every day.

Paper in its most common form – white copy paper – could be the start of something, a blank canvas, a new project or design, your first book. A variety of printing and writing papers help to communicate and inform through news and advertising, the label on the coffee jar, the medicine box insert and the month-end supermarket specials. Paper also educates – from your child’s first reader to their last matric exam.

Paper packages and protects. From our eggs, teabags and cereal, milk and juice in cartons, to medicine and cosmetics. And let’s not forget that new computer equipment for the office or your online shopping order.

From the bestseller of your favourite author to a night at the movies with popcorn, a drink and a box of chocolates, paper entertains.

Facial and toilet tissue, kitchen towel and baby and feminine products help to improve our lives through convenience and hygiene.

2. It’s renewable

In South Africa, paper is produced from farmed trees. Some 850 million trees are grown over 676,000 hectares for the very purpose of making pulp and paper.

“If it wasn’t for commercially grown trees, our indigenous forests would have been eradicated years ago to meet our fibre, fuel and furniture needs,” explains PAMSA executive director Jane Molony. “Sustainable, commercial forests have a vital role to play in curbing deforestation and mitigating climate change.”

As with most agricultural crops, trees are planted in rotation. Once mature – after seven to 11 years, they are harvested. However, only 9-10% of the total plantation area is felled annually. New saplings are planted in the same year, at an average rate of 320,000 new trees per day, or one-and-a-half saplings per harvested tree. This is what makes the paper we source from wood renewable.

3. It’s recyclable

Recovered paper – the paper and cardboard from our recycling bins – is a valuable raw material and South Africa has been using it as an alternative fibre in papermaking since 1920.

Given that land suitable for the commercial growing of trees is limited, virgin fibre is supplemented with recovered paper. On the other hand, an injection of virgin fibre is also needed in the papermaking process because paper fibres shorten and weaken each time they are recycled.

In 2019, 68.5% of recoverable paper was collected for recycling – recoverable paper excludes the likes of books and archived records, and items that are contaminated or destroyed when used, like tissue hygiene products and cigarette paper.

4.  It’s good for the environment

Working forests provide clean air, clean water and the managed conservation of wetlands, grasslands and biodiversity.

Farmed trees are efficient carbon sinks. Every year, South Africa’s commercial forests are estimated to capture 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, in turn releasing 15 million tonnes of life-giving oxygen…. Memory jog back to that primary school science lesson on photosynthesis.

The carbon remains locked up even after the wood is chipped, pulped and made into the many items we use every day. This is a good reason to recycle as it keeps this carbon locked up for even longer. Sent to landfill, paper will naturally degrade along with wet waste and add to unnecessary emissions.

Recycling is a space saver too: one tonne of paper saves three cubic metres of landfill space – and the associated costs. The 1.2 million tonnes of recyclable paper and paper packaging diverted from landfill in 2019.

1.2 million tonnes of recyclable paper products diverted from landfill during 2019, if baled, would stretch 1 400km if the bales were laid end to end, fill 1 442 Olympic swimming pools or cover 219 soccer pitches. More importantly, this recovered paper saved 3.6 million cubic metres of landfill space.

5.         It’s good for the economy

Not only does pulp and paper production add billions to the South African economy annually, the growing and harvesting of trees, the making of paper products and recycling them provides sustainable jobs for thousands of people.

Let’s not forget the jobs of engineers and researchers who design advanced technologies and processes that make pulping, papermaking and paper recycling more energy and water-efficient, and the artisans and operators that keep paper production moving.

Add to this the downstream value chains which rely on paper to produce their products, including printing and publishing, media, and advertising, and the myriad sectors which use paper-based packaging to protect their goods during transit.

Any which way you look at it, paper, tissue and paper-based packaging are essential, and this is a good thing – for our economy and for our environment,” says Molony. “Invented some 2,000 years ago, paper is one of the oldest ‘technologies’ with research, development and innovation continuing the world over to make more efficient use of trees, recycled paper, water and energy. Paper is a great story.

Paper is versatile - it's used in boxes, notebooks and tissue.
Paper is versatile – it’s used in boxes, notebooks and tissue.
Paper is renewable, as it's made from the wood fibre of farmed trees.
Paper is renewable, as it’s made from the wood fibre of farmed trees.
Paper is recyclable, and we can make loads of new products with old paper.
Paper is recyclable, and we can make loads of new products with old paper.
Paper is good for the environment as working forests provide clean air, clean water and many environmental services such as biodiversity and wetland conservation.
Paper is good for the environment as working forests provide clean air, clean water and many environmental services such as biodiversity and wetland conservation.
Paper is good for the economy through the provision of jobs and contributing significantly to the GDP.
Paper is good for the economy through the provision of jobs and contributing significantly to the GDP.
Get your school on the Ronnie Recycler programme and make a difference! Paper industry responds to Covid-19 with agility and compassion
Latest News & Features

Paper industry responds to Covid-19 with agility and compassion

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It's #InternationalFlowerDay. Who doesn't love flo It's #InternationalFlowerDay. Who doesn't love flowers? 

Brighten someone's day by sharing one of these images or tagging them in the comments.
From us to you, we wish you a blessed break howeve From us to you, we wish you a blessed break however you will be celebrating. Be safe. Thank you for your support in 2020. See you on the flip side.
It's #WorldToiletDay. Next time you flush, give th It's #WorldToiletDay. Next time you flush, give thanks. Some 4.2 billion people are currently living without access to safely managed sanitation. While you're at it, give thanks for #toiletpaper too.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Hands up who has a pile of books this high next to Hands up who has a pile of books this high next to their bed?  What's at the top?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's Friday. Remember, now is not the time for wil It's Friday. Remember, now is not the time for wild rumpus. Wear your mask. Keep your distance. Wash those hands! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The humble #egg carton was invented in 1911 by new The humble #egg carton was invented in 1911 by newspaper editor Joseph Coyle of Smithers, British Columbia, Canada, to solve a dispute between a local farmer and hotel owner in Aldermere, near present-day Telkwa, over the farmer's eggs' often being delivered broken. 🥚

#thepaperstory
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“The earth laughs in flowers.” ― Ralph Wald “The earth laughs in flowers.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

#thursdaymotivation #thepaperstory #eggboxcrafts #papercrafting #papercrafts #paper #recycledpaper
When we begin to see plantation forests as tree fa When we begin to see plantation forests as tree farms or crops, we can appreciate the products, economic and environmental service they provide. Sustainable forestry ensures that the renewable resource of wood is produced responsibly. 

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Wood. There is no rival. What other material encou Wood. There is no rival. What other material encourages sustainable forestry, #tree planting and #carbon storage? 

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What's your favourite #magazine title? Do you have What's your favourite #magazine title? Do you have volumes of them stashed away? 

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It’s #internationalprintday. Did you know that w It’s #internationalprintday. Did you know that we are printing less and this has unintended consequences on the economy and the environment? Link in bio. 

#print #paper #sustainable #printisnotdead #paperisgreater #paperisgreen #environment #earth #economy #ipd20
Do you feel guilty about printing? You shouldn't. Do you feel guilty about printing? You shouldn't. 

By using South African produced paper, you can be assured that it comes from sustainably farmed trees. The trees used to make this paper have been replaced by new trees. And always recycle your paper. It is used to make tissue and packaging products!

#paper #print #officepaper #printing #fsc #sustainable #buylocal #supportlocalbusiness #whitepaper #thepaperstory #recycle
Moulded paper fibre keeps eggs cushioned, coffee f Moulded paper fibre keeps eggs cushioned, coffee from spilling over and electronic goods protected. These packaging products are made from recycled fibre so keep them in the recycling loop by keep your paper and boxes clean, dry and separate! ♻️

(Some collectors might not take these items for recycling but you can use these in compost, for planting seeds and for paper crafts.)

#packaging #packagingprotects #paperpackaging #paper #mouldedfibrepackaging #eggs #electonics #coffee #thepaperstory #recycleyourpaper
What are we reading today? Paper books still rule, What are we reading today? Paper books still rule, don't you think? 

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What are we baking this weekend? Whatever it is, t What are we baking this weekend? Whatever it is, think about how paper is part of your kitchen. It will be paper made from recycled fibre or from the wood of sustainably farmed trees. Now that's guilt-free baking! 

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🧻 Did you know that South African toilet paper 🧻 Did you know that South African toilet paper manufacturers make use of recycled office paper in many of their tissue recipes? 📄 Recycled white paper is a valuable grade for collectors so think before you throw. Keep it clean, dry and separate from other waste and recyclables. 

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For the South African pulp and paper sector, respo For the South African pulp and paper sector, responsibly sourced woodfibre is a non-negotiable. 

This is why “Forests for All Together” - @fsc_international’s theme for this year’s #fscfriday - means so much. 

As a sector we are celebrating the importance of bringing people together to responsibly care for forests – from environmentalists to big business, from Indigenous Peoples to communities and governments, from forest workers to careful consumers, it is essential that we work together to care for our forests. 

Buy locally produced paper as far as possible and check the source. 

#forestryfriday #forestrylife #paper #pulp #fsc #sustainableforestry #environment
Are you a copy paper hoarder? Paper is a highly re Are you a copy paper hoarder? Paper is a highly recyclable product and helps the sector make new paper products that you use everyday: tissue and paper packaging. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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