Pretoria claimed top spot at the Coca-Cola Beverages SA Schools Recycling Awards on Thursday, with schools from the capital city winning the coveted prize in both the high school and primary school categories. Kgadime Matsepe Secondary School and Tshiluvhi Primary School were declared the winners after collecting a total of 44.2 tonnes and 64.8 tonnes respectively in the … [Read more...]
Christmas windows: from waste to wow!
A local empowerment project hopes to raise awareness of the importance of re-using, re-purposing and recycling plastics. Woolworths will be giving a new spin on the concept of a ‘waste not, want not’ festive season this year as locally-made repurposed plastic flower artworks are the focal point of their Christmas windows in the top 15 stores. The show-stopping designs … [Read more...]
PET recycling champions lauded for inspirational efforts
Job creation, innovation and poverty alleviation are just some of the major achievements by several recycling initiatives that are currently taking place in South Africa – these initiatives are making a tangible difference at grassroots level in communities. This was celebrated by the PET Recycling Company (PETCO), the national recycling body for PET plastics, in the form of … [Read more...]
Reducing beach pollution with lolly stick bins
A new retrieval project aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste found on South Africa's beaches. According to John Kieser, Sustainability Manager at Plastics|SA, plastic sticks such as those typically used for earbuds, sucker/lollypops and straws, continue to be one of the biggest pollutants on our country's urban beaches. “We’ve had great success with removing … [Read more...]
Leading food packaging producer joins PET recycling company
Amid mounting pressure on major retailers and brand owners to be more environmentally-minded, one of the country’s leading food packaging producers has become the first in the PET thermoform plastics sector to join voluntary national Extended Producer Responsibility body the PET Recycling Company (PETCO). The move signals a changing sentiment among producers amid a tidal … [Read more...]
Biodegradable plastics – be careful of misconceptions
Bioplastics currently represent about 1% of worldwide plastic production, and the global market for it is predicted to grow by 20% over the next five years, according to European Bioplastics. In part this growth is fueled by consumers’ increasing awareness that they should take better care of the environment and support sustainable plastic products. “With the fast … [Read more...]
An impactful partnership for the environment
Despite its magnificence and cultural diversity, South Africa is unfortunately plagued with two challenges which are unemployment and poor waste management. South Africa has a current unemployment rate of 26.7% which equates to 6 million unemployed South Africans, most of whom can be found in rural and peri-urban communities. WILDTRUST CEO, Dr Andrew Venter says that to … [Read more...]
National Zoological Gardens launches recycling pilot project
South Africa’s largest zoo, the National Zoological Garden of South Africa (NZG), on Wednesday launched a recycling pilot project aimed at job creation and addressing the massive litter problem which its thousands of annual visitors leave in their wake. Should the programme prove successful, it could also be rolled out at the Mokopane Biodiversity Centre in Limpopo. The … [Read more...]
IDC boosts young rural entrepreneurs
Siyabonga Tshabalala and Nomuntu Ndhlovu took the decision to leave their corporate jobs in Gauteng and go back home to their rural village of Steenbok in Mpumalanga, to start a business. Both aged 27, the pair now run SiyaBuddy, a recycling and waste management company that has now created 18 direct jobs and 541 indirect jobs in their community in the Nkomazi Local … [Read more...]
Popular food store trials recycling vending machine
Imagine an intelligent reverse vending machine for depositing your waste, which identifies it for you as recyclable or not. This is now a reality. In line with its recent announcement to achieve zero packaging waste to landfill by 2022, Woolworths has now launched a customer trial of an integrated reverse vending machine in its flagship green store in Claremont. “It might … [Read more...]
Africa’s largest PET recycler unveils expansion plans
Africa’s largest PET plastic recycler has announced plans to inject R200 million into the struggling economy to help South Africa meet its recycling and job creation targets for the next five years. The recent announcement follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by BRICS ministers of environment, during the 10th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg last … [Read more...]
Small recycling businesses in Boksburg receive welcome boost
Recycling SMMEs received support from the PET recycling sector earlier this month in the form of equipment that will enable their effective participation in the mandatory recycling programme launched by the City of Ekurhuleni this month. This follows concerns from small industry players and informal waste collectors that they could be sidelined by the new … [Read more...]
The pros and cons of plastic alternatives
On the 3rd of July, citizens throughout the world celebrated Plastic Bag Free Day. This, hot on the heels of Environment Day and World Oceans Day, both celebrated a few weeks earlier. On all three these days, and throughout the month of Plastic Free July, consumers were encouraged to #beatplasticspollution and join the challenge to “choose to refuse” single-use … [Read more...]
