Minister Barbara Creecy: recorded message for SAFRIPOL Sustainability Conference

15 March 2023

Mr Nico Van Niekerk – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAFRIPOL
Mr Gert Claasen – Technology and Innovation Executive, SAFRIPOL
Ms Avashnee Chetty – SAFRIPOL Sustainability Manager
Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. Unfortunately, due to another commitment I am unable to attend in person.

We can define sustainability as a process that can be maintained or supported over a length of time without depleting irreplaceable natural resources. Inherent in the concept is an idea of intergenerational justice: namely that our current practices should not detract from the ability of future generations to sustain life on earth.

While it might seem that this term is useful only in the realm of conservation or environmental processes, sustainability has become an important principle of international development discourse, and informs indices such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

So, what does this concept mean for the plastics sector? Plastics products are used globally by billions of people daily. Yet much of the more than 400 million tonnes of plastic produced every year contributes significantly to problems such as pollution and environmental degradation directly impacting on the quality of life, and food and water security of current and future generations. The problem is so serious that the theme for international World Environment Day in 2023 will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.

South Africa has a large plastics industry which is responsible for creating tens of thousands of jobs. Accordingly, our department acknowledges that any solution to the plastic pollution problem must involve the important contribution of SAFRIPOL and other players in the plastics industry.

This journey has not been an easy one, but today the industry is very supportive of many of DFFE’s policy interventions and programmes to promote a cleaner and safer South Africa.

In this regard there are a number of critical milestones we have achieved:

• Firstly, through support and commitment from the Department of Trade Industry and Competition there is now an Industrial Policy Action Plan and the Plastics Sector Masterplan to support plastic recycling interventions in the sector;
•  The Regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility are receiving good support from the industry with commitments to provide infrastructure for materials collection and to dignify the working conditions of waste reclaimers.
• Government is now working with the sector to explore how deposit return schemes could help enhance diversion and collection targets for an improved EPR scheme.
• The amendment of the plastic bags Regulations to embrace circularity and set re-cyclate targets is an important milestone to ensure there is demand for collected plastic waste.
• The work of the Plastics Pact has gained significant support from the captains of the plastics industry with a commitment improve productive processes and make them more environmentally friendly in the up and down streams of the plastics value chain.
• The joint and collective preparations by civil society, researchers and government for the development of the Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution are receiving commendable support from the plastics industry and industry representatives are part of the intergovernmental negotiation committee meetings.

• At an international level government has engaged in fora such as the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the United Nation Environmental Assembly (UNEA) to emphasise our commitment to various instruments aimed at cutting down on plastic pollution and advancing the concept of the circular economy.

Ladies and gentlemen

Over the past few years, South Africa has witnessed a growing number of people and entrepreneurs who are bringing innovation and long-term solutions in areas such as polymer manufacturing, recycling and repurposing of plastic materials to avert leakage into the environment.

These entrepreneurs have been supported through various programmes in Government and by the plastics industry through the Alliance to End Plastic Waste initiative.

Unfortunately, despite our department’s best efforts, many municipalities are not able to offer citizens weekly refuse removal with the unintended consequence that informal dumping and leakage of plastic waste and polymers into the environment is on the rise.

In its commitment to support the implementation of the Regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility, the sector has agreed to work closely with all spheres of Government, especially the municipalities, to set up proper infrastructure and systems to enhance the collection and recycling of post-consumer plastic waste. Polymer manufacturers, such as SAFRIPOL and Sasol are being encouraged to take a lead in this regard.

There is a need for more investment by the polymer industry in cleaner production and resource efficient practices. There is a need for more innovation and dissemination of new and environmentally friendly product design for re-use and recycling. Institutions such as the National Cleaner Production Centre for South Africa (NCPC-SA), and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) can be of great help in this regard.  

I wish you everything of the best for your conference and I sincerely hope your discussions will help us do much, much more to combat the scourge of plastic pollution in our environment.

I thank you