The South African Plastics Pact has published a recyclability position statement.
The SA Plastics Pact’s vision is to keep materials in the economy and out of the environment. A central component of this vision is ensuring that plastic packaging placed on the market is recyclable in practice and at scale.
South Africa’s recycling ecosystem is shaped primarily by manual sorting systems, informal collectors, and a concentration of recycling infrastructure in urban centres. Since recyclability is largely determined by market-driven viability, these contextual realities create a landscape in which certain materials are readily recovered for recycling purposes while others are not. Within this environment, recognising a material as recyclable if it meets a 30% threshold, meaning that a minimum 30% of that material placed on the market is practically recycled, provides a pragmatic, measurable approach and benchmark. This reflects what is realistically achieved in practice and at scale in South Africa.
With the above in mind, the SA Plastics Pact has released a recyclability position statement. This position statement reaffirms the SA Plastics Pact’s definition of recyclability and explains the rationale for maintaining a 30% recyclability threshold, ensuring transparency, credibility, and alignment with both local and global standards.
To access the full position statement, click on this link.
