The aim of the “Design for Recycling for Packaging and Paper in SA” guide is to encourage designers to consider recycling possibilities, provide guidelines for those wishing to make their packaging (more) recyclable and provide everyone with information to prevent their packaging inadvertently interfering with existing plastic recycling streams.
Climate change and sustainable development are two of the biggest issues facing society today. It is therefore increasingly important for companies to reduce the environmental impacts of products and services through their whole life cycle. Companies failing to address environmental performance in product design and development will find it increasingly difficult to compete in the global market.
Packaging should be designed to satisfy technical, consumer and customer needs in a way that minimises environmental impact. These guidelines focus on the design of plastic packaging to facilitate recycling and represent a small but important aid for the journey to sustainable production and consumption
Download Design for Recycling (11.5Mb PDF) – Updated October 2017

The Recycling Surveys provide the Plastics|SA survey results for domestic virgin plastics consumption and recovery tonnages. All materials recycled or reprocessed in South Africa are expressed as a percentage of locally manufactured plastics products.
2020 Recycling Survey
2019 Recycling Survey
This document is referred to in the Recycling Survey
OR
purchase the full Recycling Survey, at R700 (excl VAT), by emailing Dianne.Blumberg@plasticssa.co.za.

Did you know that so many products are made from other recycled products?

With 59 million people in South Africa, there is enormous pressure to reduce the amount of packaging waste sent to our country’s landfills or which ends up as visible litter in the environment.
For this reason, DFFE will be implementing the new Section 18 Regulations to the Waste Act from 5 November 2021.

The South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) represents the plastics re-processors in South Africa. Its members procure sorted, baled end-of-life plastics and re-process it into raw material. The recycled material can be used to manufacture new plastics products. South Africa is amongst the top recycling countries in the world. The Organisation is funded by its members and assists recyclers in Building a recycling industry that is respected and acknowledged by government, industry and the public.
SAPRO recently hosted the Best Recycled Product of the Year Award. Read all about the winners.