Plastics SA is proud to welcome Kabelo Phakoe as its new Sustainability Project Coordinator based at the company’s head office in Midrand, Gauteng, effective from 1 February 2022.

Kabelo describes himself as “a typical Jozi guy” who was born and raised in the City of Gold. He holds a BSc (Honours) degree in Geography which he obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand. Between 2018 and 2020 he worked as an intern at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment before being appointed by the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa as a facilitator of their Entrepreneurship training course in 2021.

Kabelo’s appointment forms part of the plans to expand Plastics SA’s technical skills and knowledge base in order to provide evidence-based, up-to-date industry information by attracting experienced minds who would be able to help grow, expand and support the industry. As Sustainability Project Coordinator, he will be responsible for supporting environmentally responsible actions that benefit the industry by focusing on four main key deliverables: waste management and recycling; influencing human behaviour towards good waste management practices;  product stewardship and extended producer responsibility; and resource efficiency.

“I will be developing solutions for the prevention, recycling, re-use and recovery of plastics waste to ease the burden on landfills and the natural environment. We need to continue our efforts to change people’s perception of waste to start seeing it as a valuable resource that can contribute to our country’s GDP. Implementing EPR and product stewardship programmes for the plastics industry will also be a major focus this year, and I will continue to build on the good work started by Plastics SA’s sustainability team to educate the industry in the aspects of sustainable manufacturing - focusing on water conservation, energy efficiency and reduction in air pollution,” Kabelo says.

Apart from looking after the environment, Kabelo’s other big passion is his love for music. He is a capable drum player and is currently learning how to play the guitar.

“My biggest driving force will always be taking care of the world around us. I have witnessed first-hand the negative impact careless human behaviour can have on a beautiful city like Johannesburg. Seeing the litter strewn in the streets or waste being burned in the townships breaks my heart. I believe we can turn the tide on waste in our country if we work together across industries, sectors, provincial borders and other divides. Only once we stop working in silo’s, will we be truly supportive of each other’s efforts. This will allow us to combine our resources to maximum effect to improve waste minimisation, sustainable waste services, sustainability awareness and compliances,” Kabelo concludes.