PAMSA
PAMSA
  • About PAMSA
    • Members
    • Executive Team
    • Operational Team
    • Partnerships & Associations
    • Fibre Circle
  • The Paper Story
    • The Economic Story
      • Production Statistics
      • Map of member operations
      • Fibre-based Products
    • The Sustainability Story
      • Climate Change
      • Energy
      • Water
    • The Recycling Story
      • Paper recycling in SA
      • Improving recycling through education
      • Design for Recycling
      • www.recyclepaper.co.za
    • The Education Story
      • Education & Training Support
      • Book Development
    • The Research Story
      • Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Awards 2020-2021
      • Masters of Engineering Bursary Programme
      • PRU Research Archive
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 information
    • News
    • Brochures & Publications
    • Videos
    • Infographic
    • Printables
    • eClassroom sponsored content
    • Members only
    • TAPPSA Archive
  • Contact Us

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

PAMSA-StoryTeller
environmental sustainability, green economy, packaging manufacturers, Paper, paper recycling, plastic, recycling, save electricity, South African government, UNEP
Like 0 Thanks! You've already liked this
Latest News & Features

The business of South Africa’s garbage

How the poor earn money from rubbish.

Nokwanda Sotyantya sits among heaps of garbage and patiently sorts through it, separating cardboard, plastic, glass, paper and metal, piece by piece. The recycled piles of trash are then weighed and sold to packaging manufacturers in South Africa that reuse the materials to create new products.

Sotyantya belongs to the country’s first group of small business entrepreneurs who have benefited from the government’s move towards a green economy. It is a strategy aimed at creating environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic growth; the government wants to create 300,000 jobs within a decade in this sector.

For 48-year-old Sotyantya, who is a member of a local recycling cooperative and lives in Imizamo Yethu, a slum outside of Cape Town, the move towards a green economy has turned her life around.

Previously unemployed and struggling to survive, she says she now earns an average of 250 dollars a month from her work – enough to care for herself and her four children.

“The more people become aware of the benefits of recycling, the more rubbish gets dropped off at the Hout Bay waste centre. For me, that translates into more money,” Sotyantya explains.

One man’s waste is another’s wealth.

The Hout Bay Recycling Co-op to which she belongs is based at the municipal waste drop-off site in Hout Bay. Here Sotyantya and other members of the cooperative sort and sell the recycled material.

Her cooperative of six formerly jobless, poverty-stricken men and women currently recycles 25 tonnes of waste each month. And this number is slowly increasing.

The cooperative received a boost when Thrive, a social enterprise incubator that helps green start-ups to become viable, competitive businesses, decided to help the cooperative improve its business strategy and management expertise.

“We focus on creating jobs that help to minimise waste, increase renewable sources, protect and restore local biodiversity, reduce energy and water demands and create a local food network,” explains Thrive managing director Iming Lin.

It is much more than developing traditional business models, she adds; it is about incorporating social, environmental and economic benefits.

Although it has only been operating since July 2011, Thrive’s work has not gone unnoticed. The SEED Initiative of the (www.unep.org/) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) acknowledged the organisation’s work by selecting it for one of its 2011 sustainable development awards that are annually presented to 35 African grassroots entrepreneurs in the green economy.

“On this continent, companies and countries, from small communities to heads of state, are suddenly realising the importance of the green economy,” says UNEP spokesperson Nick Nuttall.

Growth does not happen in a vacuum.

Economic development and environmental and social sustainability cannot operate in isolation, he says.

“Going green doesn’t mean it’s nice and fluffy. There are some hard economic figures behind it, too.” Creating a green economy is no longer an option, but a requirement, Nuttall says.

“We are living in a world of seven billion people increasing to over nine billion by 2050. If we don’t change the way we consume goods and services and think about the environmental limits, then we’re in trouble.

“But it’s a world of opportunity too,” Nuttal says, adding, “there are more and more examples of small businesses solving big problems and creating livelihoods.”

It is an opportunity that the South African government wants to seize over the next few years. In November, it signed a Green Economic Accord that stipulates active national investment in the green economy.

“The green economy can create large numbers of jobs, provide a spur for industrialisation and help create a sustainable future for this and the next generations,” said Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel after the accord was announced.

The agreement is part of a plan to shift towards a lower carbon-intensity economy, while creating jobs and promoting industrial development.

But government alone cannot manage and fund South Africa’s transition to a green economy, says Patel. The business sector, trade unions and civil society organisations must also play a role.

That is why organisations like Thrive have started talking to and collaborating with different government departments, such as environmental affairs, trade and industry, solid waste or public works, to jointly develop ways of giving the local green economy a jolt.

“Social enterprises are a growing model. We want to develop donor-independent, viable, scalable business models that link the economy and the environment and that can be rolled out in multiple communities or even nationally,” says Lin.

“Government has been very supportive of what we’re doing.”

Apart from supporting the recycling cooperative, Thrive is trying to get a number of other innovative green economy businesses off the ground.

One of them is TrashBack, a bicycle recycling collection scheme that picks up re-usable material from restaurants, businesses and residential housing complexes, which are currently not serviced by the municipality. For every eight clients – or 4800kg of garbage – TrashBack can create one full-time job, says Lin.

“We want to show people how it all links into each other: waste, water, food, jobs and better livelihoods for all,” says Lin.

“We can’t afford not to have a green economy.”

Source: www.moneyweb.co.za

Article written by: Sapa-IPS

Ikea chooses less bulky, recyclable paper pallets Millennials and Print Newspaper: A Surprising Story.
Latest News & Features

Paper industry responds to Covid-19 with agility and compassion

recycled paper
Latest News & Features

Five reasons why paper rocks

9771
Latest News & Features

Wow, can wood really make that?

Recent News

  • Paper industry responds to Covid-19 with agility and compassion
  • Five reasons why paper rocks

Facts & Resources

Subscribe to our newsletter
Production statistics
Infographic
Publications
Videos
Printables

Latest Tweets

Tweets by paperrocksza

Instagram

paperrocksza

Paper Assoc. of South Africa
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.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
www.worldtoiletday.info⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#sanitation #water #health #humanrights #toilets #toilet
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?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#reading #bookquotes #bookday #writerswrite #readmore #bookclub #thepaperstory #readersread #instabook #authors #bedsidebooks #lovebooks #paperbooks #realbooks #print #printisalive #library⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Photo by @devinlesterstudios
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! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#weekend #reading #bookquotes #bookday #writerswrite #readmore #bookclub #thepaperstory #readersread #instabook #authors #mauricesendak #literature #lovebooks #wearyourmask
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re b “Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here's wishing the Matric Class of 2020 all the best as they write their exams around the country. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#learning #exams #classof2020 #thepaperstory
What are we reading and drinking today? #sundayvib What are we reading and drinking today? #sundayvibes #reading #tea #coffee #rainyday #rainysunday #books

Image by @devinlesterstudios
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
#history 
#paperhistory 
#eggs
#eggcarton
“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. 

Watch our video. Link in bio. 

#forestry
#farming
#sustainablefarming
#paper
#thepaperstory 
#wood
#workingforests 
#cellulose
#environment
#timber
#carbon 
#carbonstorage 
#carbonsequestration 
#climatechange
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? 

#wood
#pulp
#paper 
#sustainableforestry 
#sustainability 
#forestry 
#forestryexplained 
#thepaperstory
What's your favourite #magazine title? Do you have What's your favourite #magazine title? Do you have volumes of them stashed away? 

#print #magazines #printing #publishing #thepaperstory #paper
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? 

#paper #paperbooks #reading #book #booklove #paperlove #judgeabookbyitscover #literature #readingaddict
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! 

#baking #packaging #foodpackaging #recycledmaterials #recycle #recycleplease #paper #thepaperstory
🧻 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. 

#tissue #toiletpaper #recycle #officepaper #paper #print #recyclethatpaper #thepaperstory
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. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#NationalRecyclingDay #sustainablepackaging #recyclablepackaging #paperpackaging #paper #recycle #pulp #earthkind #sustainability #reducewaste #woodfibre #circulareconomy #environment
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook

Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa
© PAMSA 2021
Site designed by IMS