Determining the extent to which waste paper is recycled in Ghana - a case study at Super Paper Product Company Limited, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and eight towns in Ghana.

Waste paper, a fibrous raw material for pulp and paper, is being thrown away or burnt rather than giving it to paper based industries as raw material to be recycled for the sustainability of timber as a major raw material. This dissertation seeks to determine the extent to which waste paper is recycled to establish the importance of paper recycling and solicit their contribution in that regard. It was carried out in 3 parts. In Part 1, the objectives were to determine the type of waste paper made available to Super Paper Product Company Limited (SPPC Ltd) now African Champion Industry; the sources of the waste paper, the mode of collection and the major product (toilet roll) manufactured from the recycled paper. Data were gathered using tally sheets in the collection of waste paper and observations in the manufacturing process of toilet roll. The bulk of waste paper collected consisted of mixed white shavings (MWS-55.12%) and white shavings only (WS-20.16%). These were obtained mainly from printing presses (57%); educational institutions (16%) and organizations (11%) in Tema, Ashaiman and Accra metropolis. About 7% was obtained from Kumasi and Koforidua. Approximately 11 tons of waste paper was collected each day compared to the company’s daily demand of 16 tons. The objectives of Part 2 were to quantify paper used in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in the 2008/2009 academic year examinations using a survey method. The percentage of the paper made available if any, to the recycling industries to be recycled after results are released was investigated. Printing press and some areas in KNUST were also investigated to find out what they did with their waste paper. On examination papers, the study showed that 8,927.39 kg of sheets were used at KNUST in the 2008/2009 2nd semester examinations. Examiners retained approximately 90% of the sheets in the form of multiple choice and fill-in questions and answer sheets. These were either burnt or dumped with examinations officers after results were released. The remaining 10% of the paper went to students. About 23% of the total number of printed sheets represented extra sheets printed. Part 3 was designed to find out how much of the waste paper was given by the general public to the recycling industries for recycling. It was also to find out consumers’ perception of waste paper recycling to persuade them to collaborate with the industries in their recycling efforts. Structured questionnaires were issued whilst interviews were held with lecturers/teachers, students, and the general public in eight towns/cities in four regions in Ghana. The study showed that only 6% of waste paper was given to the industries to be recycled while on the average, 37% of it was burnt, dumped, used as wrapper, or used as toilet paper. The remaining 57% of paper was stored for record keeping. Approximately 97% of respondents felt that waste paper should be recycled to make new products. It seemed that there were no waste paper recycling promotional campaigns, since an average of 90.4% were not aware of any recycling company as against 9.6%. About 66% of respondents advocated that waste paper bins with labels be positioned in schools, offices and business centres by stakeholders to collect paper to sites where they could be sorted and given to the recycling industries. There was little impact made on waste paper collection and recycling with regards to the amount of waste paper burnt. It was, however, feasible to recover quantities of waste paper for recycling by dumping them in bins located in homes, schools, offices and business centres.

Source: KNUST