RECYCLABLE PACKAGING & PRACTICES
Be proactive when
it comes to packaging waste South Africa is a rapidly growing and developing country. Growth in our country’s population has led to an increased waste generation rate. With 59 million people, there is enormous pressure to reduce the amount of packaging waste that is either sent to our country’s landfills or ending up as visible litter in the environment.
A
s a pro-active response to the
Through the updated Section 18
informal waste pickers, small and medium-
growing national concern around
regulations of the Waste Act, all producers
sized enterprises and large-scale mechanical
waste and its impact on society
are now called upon to demonstrate their
recyclers. In addition, there is a strong focus
Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR.
on the development of new end-use markets
and the environment, South Africa recently published the Section 18 Regulations to the
EPR refers to the measures that extend a
to consume these recyclable materials,
National Environmental Management: Waste
producer’s financial or physical responsibility
as well as on the education of consumers
Act on 5 November 2020, which refers to the
for the product they make to the post-
to make them aware that used packaging
Extended Producer Responsibility aspect
consumer stage, when the consumer is done
materials have value and can be recycled into
of the National Environmental Management
with the product, and include, but is not
a whole range of new and useful products.
Waste Act (NEMWA). The regulations are now
limited to:
effective from 5 May 2021.
• supporting and initiating waste minimisation
South Africa recently published the Section 18 Regulations to the National Environmental Management: Waste Act on 5 November 2020, which refers to the Extended Producer Responsibility aspect of the National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA). The regulations are now effective from 5 May 2021
and collection programmes, • financial arrangements for any fund that has
and industry. As an industry, we are committed to continue working closely with
re-use, recycling and recovery of waste;
government as this process unfolds.
• awareness programmes to inform the public of how to recycle, why to choose well-
These are some of the requirements
designed products, and what the potential
for producers:
impacts of product waste are on their health
• E xisting producers to register with the
and that of the environment; and
Department of Environment, Forestry and
• any other measures to mitigate the potential
Fisheries by 5 November 2021 (as per the
impact of the product on human health and
amended EPR regulations released on 15
that of the environment. Luckily, South Africa is well positioned for this next stage of environmental legislation as voluntary, EPR schemes for packaging have been running for many years now. There are several Producer Responsibility Organisations (or PROs) operating in South Africa who, between them, cover the different packaging streams, namely PETCO for PET, Polyco for multi-layer), the Polystyrene Association
January 2021). • Be part of an EPR scheme that includes the entire value chain. • Be accountable for the operation and performance of an EPR scheme. • Pay the appropriate levy to the EPR scheme – payments and contracting by end 2021. • Fulfil monitoring and reporting obligations – to begin Q1 2022. • Implement labelling of packaging to indicate disposal information. •
for polystyrene, Southern African Vinyls
approach of producing, using and discarding
Association for vinyl, The Glass Recycling
valuable materials such as plastics, paper,
Company for glass, Fibre Circle for paper and
glass and metals, our focus is now on
MetPac-SA for metal packaging.
developing circular economies within South
collaborative approach between government
been established to promote the reduction,
polyolefins (PP, HDPE, LDPE/LLDPE and Instead of supporting the outdated, linear
The new Section 18 regulations is a welcome step forward towards a more
Each of these PROs collect voluntary EPR
Africa. The value of should never be lost, but
fees from their members. However, this will
kept within the economy by ensuring that
become compulsory with implementation of
these materials are diverted from landfill to
the Section 18 EPR. The revenue generated,
be reused and recycled into many new and
will be used to support the collection, sorting
useful materials.
and recycling of recyclable materials by
Please take note of the following important dates and timeline: • End Q1 – Focus group to revise regulations for review (publication before 5 May) • 5 May 2021 – Effective date of regulations • 5 Nov 2021 – Revised date for final compliance with regulations.
Plastics|SA – www.plasticssa.co.za
FOOD REVIEW | MARCH 2021 202 1
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