MAKE THE CIRCLE GREENER

We urgently need to reduce the amount of plastic waste which goes into landfills and often ends up polluting our natural environment. Yet, says WWF’s Lorren de Kock, the solutions are complex

IT’S TIME for big business to step up and take some of the responsibility for the overfilled landfills where most plastic packaging ends up, suggests a new WWF report titled “Plastics:

From Recycling to (post-consumer) Recyclate”.

South Africans, it found, are lagging behind in recycling and the fault lies not only with the consumer but also brand owners, retailers and producers.

The call is for these groups to step up and help stop plastic ending up in landfills by being conscious of what they are sending out, and to stop laying the full responsibility for plastic recycling on the consumer.

At present, most plastic products and packaging consumed in South Africa are sent to landfills or open dumps when discarded.

While recycling rates in South Africa have increased steadily since first reported in 2011, over the past three years numbers have stabilised. This highlights the need for more support from all stakeholders in the value chain to increase collection, recycling and the demand for post consumer recycled content, not incrementally but to achieve the systemic shift required.

Co-author of the report, Lorren de Kock, who is also WWF South Africa project manager: circular plastics economy, says the solutions to these problems are complex.

For instance, instead of using virgin (new) plastic raw material, we could include post-consumer recycled content – or recyclate – in plastic products to drive up recycling rates. However, there is no silver-bullet solution and there are many barriers in the plastics value chain, some of which are unique to particular sectors.

On the topic of how to enable the recycling industry, the report taps into a wide network of stakeholders across the value chain to seek answers.

Among the issues identified in the report are problematic food packaging, poorly informed consumers, poor design of plastic packaging, an unstable supply chain and a lack of cooperation between brand owners, producers and retailers.

Food packaging is a particular challenge for several reasons including food-contact and safety standards, along with the fact that post-consumer recyclate is often more expensive than virgin plastic resins.

While there is potential for meaningful, systemic changes, there is a “general inertia” in the value chain as outlined by some of the key players, says De Kock.

The call is for brand owners, retailers and producers to step up and help stop plastic ending up in landfills by being conscious of what they are sending out

The use of non-plastic, organic shopping bags is gaining popularity as an alternative to harmful plastic bags.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN PLASTICS PACT’S 2025 TARGETS

Target 1

Elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (reuse) delivery models

Target 2

100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable* by 2025 (*applicable only in closed-loop and controlled systems with sufficient infrastructure available or fit-for-purpose applications).

Target 3

70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled. This is the only target that is not under the direct control of individual members. The target of a 70% recycling rate for all plastic packaging put on the market in South Africa means that the South African Plastics Pact commits to engage and collaborate with key players beyond its membership.

Target 4

30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

The virgin polymer suppliers (producers and suppliers of new plastic raw material) are heavily invested in manufacturing fossil fuel-derived polymers. For them to invest in new infrastructure to chemically recycle post-consumer plastic is a big ask and their profits are not guaranteed.

When it comes to the converters (or the packaging manufacturers), there is a mindset that recycled materials are inferior to virgin plastics and will impact on operational efficiencies and potentially reduce profits.

The general view is that the most influential sector within the value chain is brand owners and retailers. They hold the key to change as they place the orders for packaging and specify what they want – but they are not doing enough to drive change. Very few have a packaging policy which includes recycling design criteria, such as the inclusion of post-consumer recyclate and procurement from suppliers who also support circular packaging.

And then there are the consumers who, for the most part, are at sea when it comes to what can and can’t be recycled. For them to make informed choices and to recycle at source, there needs to be credible and clear labelling and more communication.

Some of the recommendations are the need for the “drivers” of the chain to make voluntary collective commitments, such as through the SA Plastics Pact.

Another is for retailers and brand owners to make use of post-consumer recycled content mandatory, not only for non-food packaging, but also in items such as trolleys, totes, crates and bags. The use of standardised “on-pack recycling labels” on all packaging would also help consumers navigate this complex environment.

Recently, the South African government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations which is a positive development. These require those who put products into the market take responsibility for what happens to them at the end of their life cycle. The intention behind this is to drive up recycling rates and to reduce the leakage of plastic waste into the environment.

Municipalities, industry and the producer responsibility organisations hold the potential to work together to meet the targets set in the new EPR regulations. Local and national government also have enormous power to stimulate the circular plastics economy by including recycled content requirements in their public procurement policies.

To increase recycling rates and accelerate the use of post-consumer recycled content, each stakeholder in the plastics value chain is dependent on others also stepping up to overcome the barriers and to work together to enable an effective recycling industry.

For far too long the problems of plastic waste seeping into the environment and low recycling rates have been laid at the door of the consumer alone. As the report highlights, it will take coordinated planning and action, involving all sectors, to arrive at a meaningful solution, concludes De Kock.