Remember to recycle your liquid cartons
It's estimated that 50 000 tonnes of liquid packaging is consumed per year in South Africa.
JUICE and milk cartons which have long been one of the contributors to waste in South Africa’s landfill sites are now recyclable. That’s according major recycling company Mpact Recycling and packaging company Tetra Pak SA.
The companies said they have been campaigning for over a year to get South African consumers and companies involved in recycling liquid packaging cartons. Despite this many people remain unaware that their juice and milk cartons are now recyclable.
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About one year ago Mpact Recycling opened its R46-million liquid packaging recycling plant in Johannesburg. The facility can recycle 24 000 tonnes of used liquid cartons per year and has yet to run at full capacity.
It’s estimated that 50 000 tonnes of liquid packaging is consumed per year in South Africa. Previously the packaging was catergorised as waste.
“Once the plant is able to run at full capacity, this could equate to a saving of 65 240m3 of landfill space, as well as a saving of approximately 11 400 tonnes of carbon emissions,” said Donna-Mari Noble, communications manager at Mpact Recycling.
Noble has called on all residents to be part of saving the planet by joining not disposing their liquid containers.
Also read: Durban’s recycling project stalls
“We are calling on the South African corporate industry and consumers to help us. We need more used cartons – too many are still being disposed of in our precious landfills, instead of being recycled,” said Noble.
Agripa Munyai, sustainability manager for Tetra Pak SA, said the challenge now is educating South Africans to recycle these products, which often take up half of our weekly grocery shopping baskets.
“Items such as juice, custard and long-life milk cartons are made from a mix of mostly paperboard, and very thin layers of plastic and aluminium – referred to as polyalu – with all these layers being important and necessary for food protection,” Munyai said.
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“Whether you finish a carton of milk at breakfast or enjoy a box of custard for dessert, place your flattened, used container into your nearest recycling bin, whether at home, school or work. This way South Africans will not only be doing their bit to keep the environment clean, but will also be helping to continue creating sustainable job opportunities throughout the recycling value chain,” Noble added.
For those that just want to dispose of their cartons – they can do so in any of the Mpact Ronnie banks.
uMhlanga drop off centres:
- Gateway Shell Servicentre Cc
- Granada Square
- Harvest Church
- N.G. Kerk – Umhlanga
- Pioneer Park Retirement Village
- Rolling Hills Comm Life Assoc.
- Shell Garage – Gateway
- Twilanga Retirement Village and Care Centre
Durban North drop off centres:
- Chelsea Prep Schools
- Danville Park Girls’ High School
- Durban North Baptist
- Durban North College
- Durban North Junior Primary School
- Glenashley Senior Primary School
For the full list of drop off centres visit www.recycleyourcartons.co.za.
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