The environment is being cleaned up by the plastics industry

The South African plastics sector’s collection efforts and recycling programs have a positive impact on reducing plastic waste in the environment as well as society. This can be seen in the high level of plastic waste recycling that is being done in South Africa, albeit from a low base. There are also initiatives to keep our water catchment areas clean of plastic litter.

Anton Hanekom, Plastics SA Executive Director says there has been an increase of 35% in recycled content over the last ten years. This will be a major drive for the sector moving forward. Plastic products produced in South Africa are being collected up to 43,7%. The South African recycling chain is lengthy and expensive, with materials lost and costs added. This process can recycle as much as 22% of all plastic waste. This is a lot higher than in some other countries.

There has been a notable rise in the consumption plastic packaging products in the country. This is due to the high demand for hygiene products and health products during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. This was especially true during 2020 when strict measures were taken in order to limit the spread of this virus. The plastics sector grew from 17% of gross domestic product (GDP), prior to the pandemic, to 20% of GDP by numbers. Plastics products are consumed per capita in South Africa at a rate of 24kg per citizen and 29kg each person when you add recycled content.

Douw Steyn is the Sustainability Director at Plastics SA. He says that the industry is working hard in order to improve its reputation, given the environmental and social impacts of plastic waste. Particular concern is the amount plastic waste ending up on beaches and in the oceans. Research has shown that 80 percent of litter found on beaches and in oceans is made up of land-based materials. Steyn explains that there are a variety of initiatives we have started to keep our country’s river-catchment area clean of plastic waste.

Plastics SAs projects in these areas involve waste management and recycling as well as education, training, awareness, and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. This includes clean-up campaigns which are the last resort.

Inkwazi Isu, KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, is a sound example of this type of project. Inkwazi IsuisiZulu is an acronym for Fish Eagle. The project was named after Fish Eagles that returned to the catchment areas of the region following various interventions to keep them clean. The flash flood that washed tons of litter onto beaches led to the creation of the program.

The KZN Marine Waste Network South Coast coordinates it. KZN Marine Waste Network South Coast was established by various stakeholders. It works with industry participants such as Coca Cola Beverages South Africa and Sasol, Petco, and Polyco as well as the Polystyrene Association of SA and Plastics SA as well as local community leaders.

Coca Cola Beverages South Africa sponsored Unimog equipped to remove smaller plastic particles which cannot be collected by hand. The Clean Surf Project, an NGO in the area, is operating it. The Baseline Study was funded by Sasol to determine the problem and to inform the interventions needed to address it through education, collection at the source, recycling, and cleaning up rivers.

Notably, local informal recyclers and small businesses have been empowered to change attitudes about used plastics to encourage recycling.

Moreover, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which aims to divert plastic waste from South Africa’s landfill sites, is in progress. This is in line the newly published Section 18 Regulations to South Africa’s National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 5 November 2020. EPR became mandatory for all packaging manufacturers and importers, effective May 5, 2021. It will change the way that producers, brand owners and retailers design, produce, sell, and keep their products within the recycling loop. An EPR fee per tonne is payable to any company or brand that produces or imports any type of plastic packaging for distribution. The State has set strict targets for recycling and collection that must be met within the next five years.

The fees to PROs that producers need to pay are already in effect.

Shabeer Jetam, Chief Executive Officer at Packaging SA, asked plastic producers to pay their fees in spite of these delays. He said that depending on the feedback received by Minister Creecy they would either credit or debit them.

The Minister stated that producers must pay their fees until industry has reached consensus to comply with existing legislation. Many producers are not paying at the moment, which will negatively impact PROs as they will not have the funds to fund their EPR schemes or meet their targets.