Tackling climate change, limiting plastic pollution, reducing carbon emissions… what does Cop27 mean for South Africans?
Johannesburg, South Africa (10 December 2022) – Earlier this month, delegates at COP27 discussed ways to tackle climate change, with the European Union announcing a plan to reduce their emissions from fossil fuels by 57% by 2030.
One discussion at COP27 focused on how limiting plastic pollution and illegal traffic in plastic waste can help reduce carbon emissions. This is because most plastics are derived from fossil fuel resources, and therefore the management of the production of plastics and plastic waste is central to any climate change mitigation plans.
“The plans discussed at COP27 are ambitious, and it’s good news that waste management is part of the conversation,” says PETCO CEO, Cheri Scholtz. “We should also consider the bigger picture, which is to ensure that the packaging that is being produced is sustainable and recyclable in the first place. Plastic products should be ‘Designed for Circularity’ wherever feasible.”
PETCO is a non-profit, Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) whose main responsibility is facilitating the collection and recycling of PET plastic bottles and associated closures and labels, on behalf of its members.
“Waste management alone cannot be the solution for cutting carbon emissions, but tackling systemic and grass root level issues, such as the design of packaging gives us a better chance of meeting the goals set out by COP27,” explains Scholtz. “It is also important that producers and brand owners are aligned with a PRO that will encourage and work with them to produce packaging that meets ‘Design for Circularity’ standards.”
In South Africa, PETCO has been involved in partnering in projects and initiatives throughout the PET value chain that are leading the way in ‘Designing for Circularity’ innovation.
One such partnership is with Safripol, one of South Africa’s polymer producers, that makes PET. ‘Design for Circularity’ principles are integral to their business, ensuring that their polymers are used responsibly.
Safripol has implemented several impactful initiatives to advance waste collection and recycling practices. An example is the support of the Litterboom Project and Material Recovery Project facility along the lower uMngeni River catchment area in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
“The project aims to stop ocean-bound plastics by placing a litter boom across the river to enable the local community to easily trap and collect the plastics,” explains Safripol’s Sustainability Manager, Avashnee Chetty. “We use a floating device made of high-density polyethylene pipe to physically trap water-borne litter and divert it towards the riverbanks. We have since established the site as a mini-Materials Recovery Facility for the collection and recovery of waste for recycling. This has simultaneously helped uplift the local community.”
PETCO also partners with brand owners that are producers of PET packaging, including PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. One of its sustainability projects is aimed at the inclusion of recycled PET (rPET) into all PET beverage bottles within the PepsiCo business and in December 2021 the business went commercial with their 2L Pepsi Carbonated Soft Drinks beverages including 20% rPET.
“We serve the industry segment of circularity,” explains Meghna Laxman MacDonald, Senior Manager and Sector Lead for AMESA and APAC PepsiCo Public Policy Centre of Excellence. “Essentially what we are trying to do is reuse the material of an existing product and make an entirely new product that looks exactly the same and is fit for purpose.”
Further down the PET value chain are more examples of innovation. Umphakathi Recyclers, based in Soweto, Gauteng is founded by 30-year-old social innovator, Smanga Mthembu. He has established a buy-back centre that purchases recyclables such as paper, glass, boxes and all types of plastic directly from his local community.
The business is unique in that it offers an accumulative burial scheme to its customers. Collectors are paid for their recyclables and are given access to various tiers of funeral cover based on the tonnages of recyclables that they bring in over time.
“I went from being unemployed to starting my own business in 2013,” shares Mthembu. “I am now able to employ six staff and I have expanded our services from Soweto into Johannesburg. We also enable local community members to use the money they make from their recyclables so they can pay for a funeral for their loved ones.”
“Designing for Circularity” is not just about effective waste management, but about responsible design and production from the outset,” concludes Scholtz.
PETCO has created a docu-series, Message in a Bottle, telling the stories of these and other remarkable waste-trepreneurs, which can be viewed here: