Plastics Bags tread lightly on Mother Earth
The South African plastics industry has welcomed the recent findings released by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), confirming that reusable, plastic shopping bags have the lowest environmental footprint compared to carrier bags made from alternative materials.
The study was funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and aimed to identify which bag is “best” in the South African context. It assessed sixteen different types of carrier bags – including the standard single-use, 24 micron HDPE bags, as well as a number of reusable and biodegradable alternatives.
Twenty-one environmental and socio-economic indicators were used to assess the life cycle of each bag, including water use, land use, global warming, the impacts of pollution, impact on employment and the affordability for consumers.
According to Plastics SA’s Executive Director, Anton Hanekom, the local study confirmed the findings of similar studies which have been conducted elsewhere in the world, such as a recent analysis[1] by Denmark’s Ministry of Environment and Food which found that cotton bags have to be re-used 7,100 times in order to have the same cumulative environmental impact as using standard plastic bags which are easy to produce, require very little energy and produce very little carbon dioxide emissions.
“What is particularly welcoming, is that the CSIR study assessed a broad range of environmental and socio-economic indicators that are unique to our South African context. It has confirmed our message that our locally produced, plastic bags (ranging from 24 microns right up to 70 microns) are ideally suited to be reused and should therefore not be considered a single-use plastic,” Hanekom said.
The majority of the plastic carrier bags used in most African, American, Asian and European markets, range between 12 and 17 microns in thickness. In South Africa, however, retail plastic bags are regulated to be a minimum of 30 micron, plus or minus a 20% variance. Although the CSIR study focused primarily on testing the plastic carrier bags of that were between 30 and 70 microns, it confirmed that plastic carrier bags performed best overall – provided that they are reused.
“Our retail plastic bags are unique and unquestionably reusable for its primary function, namely shopping, but also have a multitude of secondary uses in South African households. Moreover, it is important to highlight that our locally produced carrier bags are now recyclable and a large percentage of them even have recycled content,” Hanekom stressed.
The South African plastics industry reached a major milestone in 2018 when the local bag manufacturers improved the recyclability of their bags by reducing the filler content. At the same time, South African retailers agreed to change their carrier bags from virgin, to include post-consumer recycled content. This move created a much-needed and substantial market for post-consumer recycled material. It was hailed as an important breakthrough for the industry and its efforts to address the issue of single-use plastics polluting the environment. By ensuring that plastic carrier bags become part of a circular economy, a win-win situation has been created for the environment and for the industry.
“The manufacturing and recycling of plastic carrier bags not only help to create employment to more than 60 000 South Africans, but also contribute vast sums of money to state funds. Plastic bags are still the only packaging item for which an environmental tax is levied. Since the beginning of April this year, plastic bag levies have increased to 25 cents, which is expected to generate more than R250 million for the state coffers. As an industry we are appealing to the Government to ensure that at least some of these funds are used to help us boost recycling and grow a circular economy,” Hanekom appeals.
Weighing in on the matter on behalf of plastic bag manufacturers, Phillip Abelheim, Chief Executive Officer of Transpaco Limited and one of South Africa’s biggest manufacturers of plastic bags, said the latest research findings were encouraging to a manufacturing sector that has been until recently, been on the receiving end of harsh criticism.
“Plastic bags were never intended to only be used once. In fact, they were invented in 1959 by Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin with purpose of saving the planet. Because they were significantly stronger than paper bags, he created these bags to help save the forests by being used over and over again. To Thulin, who was known for always carrying a plastic bag folded in his pocket, the idea that people only use their bags once and then throw them away, would be bizarre and completely go against what they were originally designed to do,” Abelheim says.
“We believe that plastic carrier bags and plastic items in general have an important role to play in our modern society. The recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has once again proven that the world relies on plastics to help prevent the spreading of diseases, protect food and to keep us healthy. Plastic products are strong and versatile and offer us convenience at a low price. The ongoing challenge lies in preventing this wonder material from ending up in the environment after it has been used, and making sure that it is properly discarded so that it can be recycled into a multitude of different and new products,” Hanekom concludes
For more information, visit www.plasticsinfo.co.za
[1] https://www2.mst.dk/Udgiv/publications/2018/02/978-87-93614-73-4.pdf
EPR Plan – Industry Update
Packaging SA, Plastics SA, the various PRO’s and other interested parties have been engaging with Government over the past 9 months regarding the proposed Section 18 notice.
Section 18 refers to the Extended Producer Responsibility aspect of the National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA) and essentially replaces Section 28 (Industry Waste Management Plans) from 2017. Whilst both Section 18 and Section 28 essentially cover Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and material recovery, we welcomed the adoption of a Section 18 process as it allows industry to raise, manage and disburse EPR fees themselves.
WHERE ARE WE NOW
On 26 June 2020 the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), Ms. Barbara Creecy, published an amendment to the National Environmental Waste Act in the form of draft Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. Members of the public and industry were given 30 days to comment and revert back to her with objections or suggested changes.
Once promulgated, the EPR Plan will substantially change the regulatory environment in South Africa, not only for producers and users of packaging, but for our various Producer Responsibility Organisations, i.e. PETCO, Polyco, the Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) and the Polystyrene Association of SA.
It will be the responsibility of the various Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO’s) to drive sector based waste minimisation programmes, manage financial arrangements for funds to promote the reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery of waste; drive awareness programmes and innovate new measures to reduce the potential impact of products on health and the environment.
EXPECTED TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Once approved and promulgated, producers and PRO’s will have 6 months to become compliant. However, the Minister has made it clear that she wants to implement the new regulations as soon as possible, and there is talk that it could be in place as soon as the fourth quarter of 2020. It is likely that the targets for the 1st year and reporting requirements will commence at the beginning of 2021. As currently drafted, the requirements essentially come into effect on the date of publication of the final notice, which could be as early as September 2020.
FOCUS AREAS FOR THE SA PLASTICS INDUSTRY
Of particular concern to us is ensuring that the final Section 18 notice is practical, reasonable and applicable to the South African context.
UNLOCKING THE HIDDEN VALUE OF WASTE
It is crucial that targets that are being set for the collection and recycling of the various forms of plastic, are based on the South African scenario, include local data, use our own best practice models and build on the successes that our existing PRO’s have already achieved.
A staggering 70% of the plastics that recycled in South Africa, are still obtained from landfill and other post-consumer sources.
34 % of South Africans do not have access to any waste management services. Waste management infrastructure needs to be put in place by municipalities throughout SA where concerned citizens can participate and which can deal with recyclable as well as non-recyclable waste.
Recyclables are a valuable resource and should be removed from the solid waste stream before reaching landfill where they become contaminated and extraction costly. Separation-at-source, whereby recyclable materials are separated from non-recyclables, is therefore a key success factor for all recycling.
The plastics industry is fully committed to cooperate with Government as we work to clarify the issues of concern.
For those producers who have not yet signed up to a PRO, you are advised and encouraged to join without delay. Not only will this ensure that your company is compliant and meet the obligations under the new legislation, but your input and contributions during this development stage of the game are much needed and could help to shape our industry focus and activities for many years to come.
For more information, kindly email Anton.Hanekom@plasticssa.co.za
PETCO announces positive PET recycling rate
Latest stats show 62% of all PET plastic beverage bottles produced in SA in 2019 were collected for recycling
DESPITE global market contractions, and now the rolling economic impact of Covid-19, South Africa’s PET plastic recycling value chain has kept its wheels turning, delivering another positive annual recycling rate while creating thousands of jobs for informal reclaimers who returned to work under level three of the national lockdown.
According to new statistics released by the PET Recycling Company (PETCO), which is the producer responsibility organisation for the sector, 62% of all polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic beverage bottles placed on the market in 2019 have been recycled – a trend which is in line with global PET recycling rates*.
This amounts to 95 879 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles collected, which would otherwise have occupied 594,448 cubic metres of landfill space and produced 144,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Aside from these environmental benefits, PET recycling also generated 65,900 income-earning opportunities among informal reclaimers and SMMEs, with R1.1 billion injected into the downstream economy via the manufacturing, distribution and sale of products made from recycled PET (rPET).
PETCO chief executive officer Cheri Scholtz said while the overall 2% year-on-year decrease in volume was disappointing, it was as good as could be expected, given the significant loss of installed capacity following the closure of one of the country’s six PET recyclers.
“The closure of Mpact Polymers had a significant impact on our capacity to recycle, with the remaining recyclers unable to pick up the slack as they were already operating at maximum capacity in the fourth quarter.”
On a positive note, Scholtz said the tonnage of rPET sold in South Africa – more than 23 904 tonnes – was similar to 2018, reflecting both the improving output at the remaining recyclers, as well as the increasing demand for rPET.
“This shows that consumers and brand owners are starting to take their product packaging’s ‘green credentials’ seriously,” she said, adding that light-weighting of bottles had also contributed to the decrease in collected tonnages of PET.
“Light-weighting, or not using more material than is necessary, is an important environmental step but our challenge is to encourage ‘right-weighting’, which is about finding the balance within the circular economy.”
If bottles were too light, the pressure would be on collectors to collect much more than they were able to, with the reduced yields creating a knock-on effect up the value chain and damaging the economic viability of the PET recycling model, explained Scholtz.
She said R372 million had been paid last year by recyclers for baled bottles delivered to their plants.
Of these bottles, 57% were recycled into polyester staple fibre (PSF), with 36% used for food-grade rPET, with the remainder going into end-use applications such as geotextiles and industrial strapping.
Looking ahead, Scholtz said the impact of Covid-19 on the industry would be substantial, owing to collapsed oil prices, further market contractions and an anticipated decrease in PET consumption of approximately 18%.
“While there has been an increased demand for PET in the packaging of hygiene products such as sanitisers, and personal protective equipment such as faceshields, the demand for clothing and household textiles has plummeted, putting pressure on PSF production.”
She said the country’s only bottle-to-bottle recycling plant, Extrupet, had been able to operate as an essential service under lockdown, which had helped to keep the value chain moving.
“Our recyclers continue to buy post-consumer PET plastic bottles albeit at reduced volumes, which is another positive for our industry, as many other material recovery processes haven’t been able to operate.”
PETCO chairperson Tshidi Ramogase, who is also the public affairs, communications and sustainability director for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, said credit for effective PET recycling in South Africa was due to PETCO’s member organisations who paid the voluntary extended producer responsibility (EPR) fee on every tonne of raw material they purchased, as well as the brand owners and raw material producers who contribute additional grants.
“However, whilst we have 87% support in terms of volume of PET beverage bottles, 23% of the industry does not contribute to the work done by PETCO through EPR funding. We hope that PETCO’s track record in mobilising and sustaining the circular economy in PET will be an encouragement and we remain open to welcoming them as members.
“The 2019 results have been achieved through partnerships with business large and small, organisations and numerous individuals, making a tangible positive impact on the lives of South Africans, contributing significantly to the economy, and minimising the impact of post-consumer PET on the environment,” said Ramogase.
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Article courtesy of PETCO.