One man has made a success out of paper recycling in the Northern Cape

Siphamandla Ntshangase is not only making a difference in the environment but also in his own pocket!

A few minutes in conversation with Siphamandla Ntshangase and it’s easy to understand how, with a combination of infectious enthusiasm and natural business acumen, he’s making a success of paper recycling, thanks to the guidance of the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (PRASA).

A chance meeting with a friend who was generating a tidy income removing dry waste from grocery stores in Johannesburg convinced him that this was an opportunity to be explored. Siphamandla very soon followed suit and established relationships with some household-name supermarkets and before long was enjoying a satisfactory cash flow.

The viability of the recycling industry was further underlined when he relocated to the Northwest Cape and was able to sell his fledgeling operation at a substantial profit.

Creating a business out of waste

Moving to Kimberley, he set up a recycling business as an industry pioneer in the region, while attendance at an Entrepreneurship Training Courses offered by PRASA and the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing Seta (FP&M Seta) gave him the impetus needed to take his enterprise to an altogether higher level.

“It really opened my eyes to the whole concept of creating a business out of waste. It identified serious opportunities that could be exploited using sound business principles and helped me to create a proper marketing plan. I was no longer just collecting boxes,” says Siphamandla.

The results were rapid. He formed a relationship with a major chain where he has the exclusive rights to remove waste from a total of 12 outlets. While this is good news for Siphamandla, it is unquestionably good for the families of his 12 employees who now have permanent work in an employment-stressed region. But even better things are on the horizon.

“Our plans going forward include buying baling machines and hiring many more people from local townships. Our forecasts suggest that within the short term we should be collecting and distributing about 170 tonnes of paper and plastic a month,” he says.

His long-term goal is to develop a processing plant in which paper and plastic waste are converted into usable raw material for the production of new products, thereby completing the recycling circle.

On a personal note, the viability of his operation has rewarded him with the funds to rapidly offset the debt of his original capital investment. It has also created a career opportunity for his younger brother who will soon join him in an enterprise that is growing from strength to strength.