PLASTIC WASTE
POST-COVID-19: Not all doom and gloom for PET recycling
It has been widely reported that the novel coronavirus pandemic has had a positive impact on the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution around the world. But how has it affected plastic recycling?
C
ovid-19 had an unexpected impact on the whole PET recycling value chain – from our conver ters and recyclers down to the informal reclaimers. But, even during this difficult and unprecedented time, the PET plastic recycling value chain kept its wheels turning,” says Cheri Scholtz, CEO at PET Recycling Company (Petco). Petco was established at the end of 2004 as an industr y-driven and -financed national recycling initiative, based on the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), with the goal being to act as the vehicle through which the PET industr y could self-regulate and coordinate its recycling activities. Petco is not involved in the physical collection or recycling of waste PET in South Africa – it acts as a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) that financially suppor ts activities along
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the waste PET value chain. Members include brand owners, resin producers, conver ters, retailers and bottlers.
Value chain kept moving
Scholtz asser ts that, although this has been a challenging time, bottleto-bottle recycling par tner Extrupet was able to register as an essential supplier to the food and beverage industr y during lockdown – meaning that food-grade Phoenix rPET remained available and kept their value chain moving. “This is really important, as it means that, once total lockdown ended, collectors were immediately able to start collecting and selling their bottles to one of our contracted recycling partners. In May and June of this year, Extrupet purchased a whopping 3 000 tonnes of postconsumer PET bottles for recycling, despite feeling the impacts of Covid-19,” she added. Added to this, many in the extended Petco network continued with their good work during the lockdown, suppor ting their communities, contributing food vouchers for informal reclaimers, and providing income oppor tunities wherever possible. Additionally, the paper and packaging industr y raised almost R800 000 in funds for the donation and distribution of electronic vouchers, to help sustain almost 4 000 informal reclaimers across the countr y.
Positive PET recycling rate In June, Petco announced positive PET recycling rates for 2019, despite market contractions; however, for the first time in the organisation’s histor y, it not only fell short of its target in percentage terms, but also saw a contraction in the tonnes of bottles collected for recycling. “Our collection dropped from 98 649 tonnes to 95 879 tonnes and, in percentage terms, from 63% to 62% of beverage bottles. While the overall year-on-year decrease in volume was disappointing, it was as good as could be expected. “The primar y cause of the shor tfall was the unexpected closure of Mpact Polymers in August 2019. Although it was clear that the company had been struggling for some time, the decision to cease operations caught most of the industr y by surprise.” The Mpact Polymers closure accounted for over half of the nearly 8 406 tonne collection shortfall in 2019. Other factors that contributed to the underper formance included an increase in imports of material for recycling and load-shedding.
“Consumers and brand owners are starting to take their product packaging’s ‘green credentials’ seriously.”
