Mpact Recycling launches 2017 schools paper recycling competition with R20,000 in prize money up for grabs

Schools in the cities of Johannesburg, Midrand, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay have again been invited to participate in the Ronnie Recycler school’s competition for 2017. Schools in each city will be eligible to win prizes to the value of R20 000*.

The competition is organised annually by Mpact Recycling. The purpose of this competition is to raise awareness of the environmental benefits and importance of paper recycling. It instils lifelong positive habits amongst young learners who participate. This year’s competition, which officially launched on the 1st February and runs until the end of September is open to nursery schools, primary schools and high schools in each city.

Through Mpact’s Ronnie Recycler programme 169,000 learners were reached last year, compared to 143,000 learners in 2015. Mpact’s friendly Ronnie Recycler mascot visits schools across the country educating learners on the importance of recycling, which encourages them to recycle and to participate in the annual recycling schools competition.

Donna Noble, Mpact Recycling communications manager, says: “To win our fantastic prizes, your school must collect more paper than any other school in your area. The minimum entry requirement is a collection of ten tonnes over the eight-month period – just over 1 tonne per month.”

All types of paper based packaging is recyclable in the schools competition – paper, newspaper, magazines, cereal and egg boxes, old school books, junk mail, wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, shredded paper, toilet roll holders, envelopes, telephone directories and most recently, all your milk and juice cartons!

Prizes for the top schools are: R10,000* as the 1st Prize; R5,000* for the 2nd Prize; and R3,000* for the third position. Additional prizes include R1,000 for the ‘Green Ambassador’ and R1,000 for the ‘Green Student’.

“To win, all you have to do is encourage your family, friends and fellow students to recycle their paper by filling their bags or the school’s Ronnie Bank every week. Once the bank is full, your school will then contact the nearest Mpact Recycling branch to book a collection. It’s a straightforward race: the more often your schools Ronnie bank or bags are full, the more often the school can book a collection, and we can weigh it” says Noble.

It’s not too late for schools that do not yet have a recycling programme in place to start participating. You just need to be signed up on the Mpact recycling schools programme. Visit www.mpactrecycling.co.za for more details.

Schools are particularly effective venues for paper recycling programmes because through children’s families they have large networks of homes and even their parent’s workplaces that can help contribute. “The range of initiatives that can be used to bring in paper is limited only by the creativity of learners, teachers and parents,” says Noble.

Any programme should involve as many stakeholders of the school as possible, and that it should be run by a Green Ambassador who can be either a learner or a teacher. “The main focus should be educational. We want to teach people about taking care of their environment,” concludes Noble.

For more information on the school’s paper recycling competition, on how to start a school recycling programme or on what types of paper can be recycled, visit www.mpactrecycling.co.za.

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About Mpact
Mpact is one of the leading paper and plastics packaging businesses in southern Africa, listed on the JSE’s Main Board in the Industrial – Paper and Packaging sector. The Group has leading market positions in southern Africa in recovered paper collection, corrugated packaging, recycled-based cartonboard and containerboard, polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) preforms, recycled PET, styrene trays and plastic jumbo bins. These leading market positions allow Mpact to meet the increasing requirements of its customers, and to achieve economies of scale and cost effectiveness at the various operations.

Mpact has 42 operating sites, of which 22 are manufacturing operations, in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

As at 30 June Mpact employed 5 131 people.

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