South African plastics industry body Plastics SA has launched its new sustainability objective, ‘Zero plastics to landfill by 2030’, which aims to divert all plastic from the country’s landfill sites and significantly influence the plastics industry’s waste and recycling strategic direction over the next 16 years.

Plastics SA sustainability director Douw Steyn tells Engineering News that according to the industry body’s 2013 plastics recycling survey, 1.4-million tons of plastic was converted per year with 260 930 t recycled in 2013, creating a recycling rate of 18.6% of all plastic.

Further, he notes 18 900 t of plastic was exported; therefore, the total amount diverted from landfills was 279 849 t, resulting in a 20% recovery rate.

“As this is a new aspirational vision for the plastics industry, we had a strategic session in February under the banner of the Plastics SA Sustainability Council and identified projects such as separation at source, waste management officials training, consumer education, as well as research and pilot projects that investigate plastics recovery,” Steyn says.

The separation at source project sees households setting aside their plastics for collection, after which they are sent to a material recovery facility, where it is sorted according to types of material. Through this and other projects, Plastics SA hopes to have a greater impact on plastics recycling and prevent the resource from entering landfills.

As part of its consumer education, Plastics SA will enable communities to recycle and will educate them on plastics waste management, and teach them to view plastics waste as a resource.

Steyn says more jobs can also be created through the implementation of better collection schemes, sorting facilities and the creation of new markets from recycled material.

“If we and government accelerate recycling actions, provide the infrastructure, develop the markets for materials and explore opportunities such as waste to energy recovery, we can ensure that no plastics enter landfills or the environment. Government’s role is to be an enabler and we, as industry, will ensure that recycling takes place. By combining our resources, we can achieve a ‘zero plastics to landfill’ objective,” he enthuses.

Plastics SA has 230 plastics recycling companies, or processors, that buy waste from collectors, but what is needed is cleaner, better-quality materials, says Steyn.

He says ways should be found to acquire plastic from sources, such as households, before it reaches landfills.

Further, improved sorting through collectors’ skills development is needed, as well as new technologies and, for example, the provision of balers to collectors for outlying or rural areas.

“The paper and packaging industry has the knowledge and ability to grow the recycling industry, and its undertaking of extended producer responsibility needs to be supported by government. A levy, such as the plastic bag levy, will not ensure the growth of the recycling industry. However, Plastics SA hopes that government and industry will use the Paper and Packaging Industry Waste Management Plan and waste legislation collectively,” Steyn concludes.