South Africa’s Heritage Day, on September 24, celebrates the nation’s diverse cultural & environmental wealth by encouraging people to remember, reflect on, and celebrate their heritage and the various cultures that form the “Rainbow Nation”. This public holiday is an opportunity to embrace national unity and diversity, promote social cohesion, and recognize the country’s rich history, traditions, landscapes, and the contributions of its people.
During Heritage Month for 2025, we ran a consumer campaign which recognised that much of our environmental heritage is at risk, including through the proliferation of waste. We also recognised that tackling this challenge means bringing together all roleplayers
The SA Plastics Pact members are calling on South African citizens to play their part in creating a circular economy for plastic packaging in the country.
When it comes to plastic, Individual actions make a difference and small steps shift systems
During the course of Heritage Month we discussed incremental steps that citizens can take to support our efforts to create a plastic economy that is innovative, job creating and which keeps plastic out of the environment.
Amongst the steps that can be taken is the simple act of reading the labels on the packaging we purchase, to better understand the impact of our choices. It hasn’t always been easy to interpret what the labels on packaging mean. For example, the little triangle or chasing arrows with a number in it, frequently seen on packaging and called the “Material Identification Code” (MIC) or “Polymer Identification Code”, does NOT indicate if it is “recyclable” or “not recyclable”. It is how the product producer communicates the material type to the recyclers.
The MIC labels are confusing to consumers since they imply recyclability. In truth, many of these products are NOT recyclable. Anything labelled with an MIC 7 is simply informing collectors and recyclers that the material is “other”. That’ essentially means it could be anything!
However, more recently, retailers and brand owners of the SA Plastics Pact have started making use of On-pack-recycling-labels (OPRLs) which are designed to provide clearing inidication of whether a product is recyclable and to distinguidh between the components making up the packaging. The example below gives an example of a drink bottle that is made of all recyclable materials.
These OPRLs make it must clearer for consumers. Active citizens can make a positive contribution through simple actions, by choosing recyclable products and by separating recyclables from other waste.
Some actions that an active citizen can take as part of their recycling activities:
- Cleaning: If packaging is contaminated with residue which will smell in time, rinse your recyclable packaging before depositing in your recycling bin. This prevents flies and odours, both at home and the recycling station.
- Space saving: Flatten bottles as they take up less space in bins and trucks; they’re also easier to crush and process.
- Lids: Keep the caps on so that they don’t become lost or become litter! They are easily separated from the bottles during the recycling process.
For more information on how to recycle, visit this page.
