The environmental benefits of Cape Town and L&B Recycling are infinite, but what most people don’t realise is that there are several economic advantages that result from a society that lives more consciously.
L&B Scrap CC / Recycling has a buy back centre in the Milnerton / Monatgue Gardens Area and a Main Factory – Head Offices based in Woodstock, Cape Town.
“The process from collection to creation of the recycled materials is intricate, and involves a range of different steps and service providers along the way. L&B Waste Paper Recycling is the first step in a long product journey. Our experience through the years has shown us that we are part of a bigger economic picture with different role players, and it all begins with people who recycle,” said the late Brian Tommy, who was the owner of L&B Recycling in Cape Town.
Cape Town Recycling and the Economy and How L&B Recycling plays its role
Recycling is more than an activity that has a positive environmental impact, it is a viable business sector that creates jobs and generates billions for the economy annually. More specifically, the recycling industry generates just over R15.3 billion a year, which translates to 0.51% of gross domestic product (GDP).
New market data suggests that in a whole, South Africa’s Waste Management Industry is worth R25 billion. According to a study conducted in 2019 South Africa recycles more than 70% of used steel/universal beverage cans (UBC) better known as Ali cans in the recycling industry although the rate for glass and plastic are just over 40% and 30%.
Honing in on the Western Cape particularly, the National Waste Information Baseline study estimated that 20% of the waste generated in South Africa was generated in the Western Cape, which makes the call for more co-operation with Cape Town Recycling Companies even more urgent.
Less Landfills. More Recycling.
There are extensive costs involved with using landfills as waste disposal mediums, not considering the large-scale environmental repercussions. A large part of this cost is comprised of the loss of valuable resources that results when recyclable goods end up in waste streams. The economically beneficial potential of recycling is far-reaching. Currently, South Africa generates waste with an estimated total resource value of R25.2-billion a year, with about 90% of all waste generated still sent to landfills. The goal is to reduce industrial waste by 20% and domestic waste by 60% by 2025, as stipulated by the Department of Science Technology.
Job Creation as an Economic Opportunity
One significant knock-on effect of the growth of the recycling economy is job creation. In 2011, there were between 200 and 220 plastics recycling manufacturers in South Africa. Jointly, these companies employ 4800 people, with 35 000 indirect jobs that have an annual payroll of R250 million, according to the South African Plastic Recycling Organisation (Sapro). As the number of recycling companies and initiatives increase, so will the number of available jobs. These jobs include waste collection, sorting incoming recyclable goods, processing, shipping and waste transport. To capitalize on this much-needed potential, the National Waste Management Strategy includes a goal to establish a R9 billion job fund to support job creation in the waste sector while increasing investment in this lucrative arena.
Reducing Costs by Saving Energy
The cost of energy is also greatly reduced by Cape Town recycling. For example, when an Aluminium can, better known as Universal Beverage Can or UBC gets recycled, it saves companies 95% of the energy that is required to produce cans from raw materials. In fact, the energy saved by this particular process can be used to run a TV set for three hours. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours. Overall, the cost of keeping a recycling facility running is significantly lower than the cost of a waste management plant that requires the use of a landfill or incineration.
From Paper to Pulp: A Case Study
South Africa is the biggest producer of pulp and paper in Africa, producing about 2.4 million tons of pulp and 2.7 million tons of paper for consumption by both the country and the rest of the world. In fact, South Africa is ranked the 11th largest producer of pulp in the world. In spite of these pulp and paper production capabilities, South Africa still imports significant amounts of all types of paper products. The cost of these imports can be greatly reduced if South Africa turned its focus inwards, towards our own recycling capacity as a nation. Currently, only about 57% of paper is being recycled, which means there is substantial room for growth. It’s about the bigger picture. More paper consumption means that South African raw materials are being used and ultimately depleted. What South Africa loses in raw materials, adds up to billions on local currency every year. Since the early 2000’s, the South African paper industry has diverted over 20 million tons of paper as well as paper packaging from landfills. Our country recycled 1.15 million tons of paper and paper packaging in the year 2021, showing a paper recovery rate of just over 61%.
Have thoughts on how recycling initiatives can benefit the greater economy?
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L&B Scrap cc / Recycling is Cape Town’s No.1 Recycling center focusing on B2B collections of waste office paper, news paper, as well as plastic including PET Bottles no.1, HDPE no.2, LDPE no.4 as well as Polypropylene (PP) no.5 .