Mpact starts trial run for manufacturing construction boards from recycled aluminium and plastic

Paper and packaging company Mpact is doing trial run at its plant in Benoni, Gauteng, to manufacture construction boards and pallets from recycled aluminium and plastic.

The aluminium and plastic materials are recovered from liquid packaging that is recycled at the company’s paper mill in Springs, Gauteng. Liquid packaging cartons for milk or juice are comprised of 25% aluminium and plastic, and 75% fibre (paper).

The construction boards are lightweight and durable and have great potential for commercial use. Mpact MD John Hunt says the company intends to explore commercial viability of the products and accordingly upscale the manufacturing of aluminium and plastic boards and pallets in the next few months.

Mpact started recycling liquid packaging to compensate for the major investment into the Springs paper mill. It is tough to recycle liquid packaging previously due to the significant amount of contamination.  However, Hunt said that if consumers separate the waste at source from other recyclables and rinse out the containers after use, recycling becomes easier.

“Putting paper in the recycling bin is just the start of a complex process,” he explains. Once waste is collected from households, reclaimers or private companies will separate paper, plastic and other recyclables from waste that ends up in landfill.

The paper mill in Springs has a baled storage capacity of 30 000 t, and manufactures about 350,000 tonnes of recycled material every year. Hunt says the industry has already surpassed its target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2020. He thinks more still needs to be invested to create a proper circular recycling economy in South Africa. And manufacturing aluminium and plastic boards from recycled materials will add value to the scrap while cutting down environmental footprints.