Five New Project Partners To Receive A Total Of R5.5 Million In Funding Support

POLYCO, the Polyolefin Recycling Company has just released the names of the five successful applicants who will be receiving a total investment of R5.5 million to expand their existing separation, collection, sorting and/or mechanical recycling facilities. Since it started its operations in 2013, POLYCO has already invested more than R25 million into building and expanding the local polyolefin plastics recycling industry.

“Earlier this year, we issued a Call for Proposals for supply chain efficiency projects, specifically aimed at existing businesses who could contribute to the sustainable growth of the collection, sorting and mechanical recycling of polyolefin plastic”, explains Mandy Naudé, CEO of POLYCO.  “We were looking for collectors and recyclers who needed funding to invest in new equipment in order to take their business to the next level of growth”.

Applications were received from around the country, many of which wanted funding to implement new separation-at-source programmes, purchase minor equipment to overcome current supply chain constraints or funding to support community-based projects to grow separated collection volumes. After a rigorous evaluation process, POLYCO’s Board of Directors approved the applications from the following five companies who were best able to meet their criteria for funding support. POLYCO’s investment into these operations is either a once-off financial grant, or an interest-free loan which has to be paid back over 3 years. The repaid funds are used to fund other recycling activities.

• Tufflex: 

This Germiston-based recycler is a well-known and established brand in the local recycling industry, specialising in recycling domestic and industrial polymers into usable products such as rail sleepers, furniture, armco barrier uprights, decking for walkways and pallets.

Under the guidance of new owner Peter Waldburger, Tufflex has been given a new lease on life with a lot of time, money and effort spent on rejuvenating its facilities.  Despite its successes, Waldburger was concerned about the company’s sole reliance on their supply of clean, post-industrial feed stock to keep their operations going.  Should the situation occur where this supply runs dry, the company would have no alternative supply of material and be left vulnerable.  

“Thanks to POLYCO’s interest-free loan, we are now able to invest in a much-needed wash plant and shredding capacity that would enable us to also accept post-consumer material. Coming from households or off landfill sites, these plastics are often very heavily soiled and need to be washed before processing.  We are hugely excited about the possibilities this upgrade to our facilities will mean for our business in the years to come,” Waldburger says.

• Lanseria Plastics (Pty) Ltd

Based in Kya Sands, Gauteng, Lanseria Plastics specialises in recycling both HD and LD plastics.  Owner Hannes Uys and his team identified new markets for their growing business, but needed to ensure a consistent quality of recyclate.  To this end, they applied for, and were awarded, an interest-free loan to be spent on investing in new test equipment to ensure a quality product.  
 
“We owe POLYCO a huge debt of gratitude for believing in our business and allowing us to invest in this much-needed equipment”, Uys says.  “Being able to produce recycled polymer of consistent quality will allow us access into new end-use markets.”

• B-West Cleaning and Recycling Project Co-operative Limited

POLYCO has awarded a grant to this small collector on the outskirts of Soweto. As with many of the smaller collectors, B-West had to find a way of getting their materials to the recyclers.  Investing in a new baler and scale will allow them to weigh the collected material and compact into bales for economical delivery.  

“Many thanks to POLYCO for uplifting B-West Cleaning and Recycling Projects. We are very greatful for everything you’re doing for us,” says Johannes Brocherds of B-West.  “Thanks to your investment, I can grow the company and be an even more professional collector and give a more accurate report on our growth volumes”.

• BB Plastic Solutions

This medium-sized recycler is based in Nigel, Gauteng, and started its operations in 2005. As a supplier of pelletized material to the plastics recycling industry, owner Bertus Becker needed funding support in order to grow their operation so that it is able to process larger volumes of polyolefin plastics. 

Recognising the potential of this business, POLYCO has awarded an interest-free loan to BB Plastic Solutions for installing a new extrusion line, a baler and testing equipment.  “We will now be able to convert our extra HD polymer that will be a huge benefit to our business,” Bertus says.
 
• NC Cluster Recycling

This relatively new player in the recycling industry, NC Cluster Recycling based in the Northern Cape, was awarded a grant in order to improve their collections of polyolefin recyclables in many of the smaller towns in this area. Until recently, these towns had very little or non-existent service levels. 

“Our biggest challenge thus far has been ensuring that the waste from the almost 40 towns we are currently servicing gets transported quickly and effectively to the recyclers in the bigger towns.  To do this, we desperately needed to invest in trailers that could be hooked onto our trucks in order to almost double the load for each trip,” says owner Riaan Steyn. “We are hugely grateful for this grant as it will help us to become more economically viable, and will also allow us to purchase a granulator which we also desperately need to bring the logistics costs down even further”.

Commenting on the latest round of funding applications, Mandy welcomed their new project partners and congratulated them on their successful submissions.  “We look forward to watching their businesses grow and prosper. POLYCO reiterates our commitment to them, to provide support, advice and network links to the other successful players in the industry,” she concluded.