Extrupet has finalised the expansion of its food-grade recycled PET plant, increasing the current processing capacity from 20 000 to over 30 000 tonnes per annum, to facilitate the growing demand for rPET. As PETCO continues to believe that growth in rPET production and consumption is ultimately key to ensuring the sustainability of both the PET and recycling industry, rPET … [Read more...]
SA slowly turning the tide against plastic pollution
The South African plastics industry has released the plastics recycling figures for the year ending December 2019. According to Anton Hanekom, Plastics|SA’s Executive Director, a detailed survey into the state of the country’s plastics recycling industry is conducted annually by Annabé Pretorius of Plastix 911 - an independent consultant who has an unsurpassable knowledge of … [Read more...]
Eco heroes wear masks and make a difference
Each year, the local plastics industry welcomes the arrival of Spring and warmer weather by encouraging citizens to help make a difference where they live, work, learn or play by participating in Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week – an annual public awareness week during which plastics and other litter are removed from our country’s neighbourhoods, rivers, streams, beaches and … [Read more...]
Post-consumer PET rates holding steady despite pandemic
In a time when we can all use some good news, PETCO’s PET bottle-to-bottle recycling partner, Extrupet, reported purchasing a whopping 3,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles in May and June this year. This is significant because cold beverage consumption usually drops during the winter months and, according to Extrupet, a good figure under normal circumstances would be … [Read more...]
Finding economic and environmental solutions after covid-19
Post-Covid-19, there will be more pressure on governments, NGO’s, and the private sector to drive small economies in local communities. With an expected rise in unemployment, a bi-product of the forced global lockdowns, new ways to derive incomes are going to be key for survival, and especially in the poorer communities in South Africa. Green Corridors, the NPO which has … [Read more...]
Plastics industry supports waste pickers during lockdown
South Africa has close to 60 000 waste pickers who play a substantial role in the country’s waste management industry. As part of the country’s informal waste sector, they help recover recyclables from household waste streams, as well as waste materials sent to landfill sites. With the country in a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these waste reclaimers … [Read more...]
City asks residents to help spot Cape Dwarf Chameleon
The City of Cape Town is encouraging residents to keep a special eye out for the Cape Dwarf Chameleon, which is classified as a vulnerable species. This will assist the City in tracing where these chameleons occur. With the onset of autumn, these chameleons, also known as Trapsuutjies in Afrikaans, should be delivering offspring ahead of the rains, which usually occur around … [Read more...]
Stimulating the PET recycling industry in Kenya
Last year, a Kenyan organisation was able to stimulate the PET recycling industry through its recycler subsidy programme, achieving a recycling rate of 38% or 7,400 tonnes of PET plastic bottles. Established in 2018, PETCO Kenya uses PETCO’S successful South African model as its operating basis. The introduction of additional installed recycling capacity will see revised … [Read more...]
Keep your home clean with this eco-friendly range
For the first time in South Africa, a household cleaning range includes products packaged in green Plastic HDPE bottles. More than ten years ago, Woolworths pioneered its own label of eco-friendly products in South Africa with the launch of its Earth Friendly range of household cleaning products. The past decade has been one of ever-increasing concerns of the impacts of … [Read more...]
Plans for an industry-managed waste plan applauded
The plastics and packaging industries of South Africa have welcomed the announcement made by Ms Barbara Creecy, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, to scrap the existing Section 28 plan for developing an Industry Waste Management Plan for the paper and packaging industry. Although the development of this plan has already been more than three years in the … [Read more...]
No more eviction for crucial Joburg recycling NPO
A group of 110 waste collectors will not be thrown out of their waste-sorting depot at Pirates Sports Club in Greenside. WastePreneurs, an initiative that helps to uplift Joburg’s informal waste collectors, has won its first interdict against the City of Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), repealing its eviction from Pirates. In what has been hailed as a “small but … [Read more...]
Tips for keeping SA paper waste out of the landfill
In 2018, South Africa recovered 1.285 million tonnes of recyclable paper products, putting the country’s paper recovery rate at 71.7%. This is according to Anele Sololo, general manager of the country’s paper recycling association, RecyclePaperZA, who adds that this rate is well above the global average of 59.3%. If baled, 1.285 million tonnes of paper and paper packaging … [Read more...]
Entrepreneurship initiative fights poverty with e-waste
South Africa’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world with our crippling economy being unable to provide adequate formal employment opportunities. In partnership with leading household appliance companies and retailers, one initiative is making a real difference by providing income-generating opportunities for the unemployed. By donating their customer returned … [Read more...]
