JANUARY 2023 marked the end of the first full year of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). As the packaging industry awaits the results of its baseline performance against the legislated collection and recycling targets, there is broad consensus that much more work is required to meet the increasing targets to 2027.
As modelled in the CSIR’s recent Waste Research Development and Innovation Roadmap Report (November 2022), achieving the EPR targets has the potential to mitigate 14% of greenhouse gas emissions between 2023 and 2040 (compared to business-as-usual projections), due to the partial replacement of virgin plastic with recycled plastics. The report also notes that mechanical recycling processes in South Africa favour rigid, mono-materials from a technical perspective. In practice, however, increased recycling also requires a heightened demand from manufacturers to include more recycled plastic in large-scale end-use applications that have a high rate of churn, such as packaging, to truly make an impact.
According to Plastics SA (2021) plastic products in general in South Africa contain an average of 16.7% recycled content. However, rigid packaging contains only 12% recycled content, which is low, especially compared to 27% for flexible packaging. Whilst food grade post-consumer recyclate (PCR) is not yet widely available, there exists a multitude of quick win opportunities for PCR inclusion in large-format, rigid plastic packaging for non-food applications.
Growing PCR content in rigid packaging requires cross-industry stakeholder collaboration on a mammoth scale. It cannot be achieved by convertors or recyclers alone. Separation of waste at source and improved waste collection are critical to unlocking PCR projects; and it is important to manage brand owner’s expectations around the aesthetics and technical performance of PCR.
