Metals
Our flagship project is our joint venture with Arcellor Mittal South Africa in the form of Collect-a-Can. From a recovery rate of 18% in 1993, when Collect-a-Can was established, to 70% in 2010, South Africa is a world leader in terms of quoted steel beverage can recovery rates. These figures exceed the latest published rates for the US and EU, and rank South Africa among the top six countries worldwide. As a result, beverage cans now contribute less than 1% of litter and are the most successfully recycled primary package in South Africa.
Paper
Our main initiatives in this area are co-ordinated by Nampak Recycling which collects approximately 200 000 tonnes of paper per year. Our paper mills process this into tissue paper and corrugated board for conversion into finished products within the Nampak group.
According to the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa, 56.8% of paper entering the waste stream was collected in 2006. The recycling rate is above 65%.
BEE entrepreneurs entering the world of recycling are advised and assisted in establishing viable businesses.
Plastics
Nampak Polycyclers processes some 4 500 tonnes of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and 1 300 tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) every year. Sourced from collectors at various waste dumps nationally, the recovered HDPE is processed back into recycled crates (which are reusable) or drums. The LDPE is used to manufacture municipal refuse bins, builders’ buckets and rectangular stacking containers.
At an industry level, we are represented via a number of high profile bodies, namely:
- PETCO, Pet Recycling Company
- RCMASA, Responsible Container Management Association of South Africa
- Plastics Federation Enviromark initiative
- NRF, National Recycling Forum
- PREO, Plastics Recyclers Organisation.
Glass
Nampak is a founding sponsor of the Glass Recycling Company. While 25% of glass is recycled locally, the high proportion of two-way packs and the culture of reusability results in an improvement to the quoted recycling rate.
Corporate
We are on an ongoing campaign to lightweight and thinwall containers, which considerably reduces the amount of packaging that ends up as waste. A number of successes have been reported in beverage cans, food cans, corrugated boxes, glass bottles and PET bottles.