South Africa Plastics Pact reshapes leadership for 2030 recycling goals

SOUTH AFRICA – The South African Plastics Pact has assembled a fresh steering committee, drawing representatives from rival retailers, competing recyclers and government departments to oversee a two-year push toward stricter packaging recycling targets.

The lineup places competitors at the same table, with Pick n Pay’s Vaughan Pierce and Woolworths’ Ralph Jewson representing retail, while Myplas’ Johann Conradie and Extrupet’s Chandru Wadhwani speak for recyclers. 

Brand owners Maritza van Dyk of PepsiCo SA and Yase Godlo of Unilever join converters Michelle Penlington of Polyoak Packaging and Shivern Reddy of CCL Label SA.

Government input comes from Pamela Nxumalo at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Alison Evans from the City of Cape Town, alongside Luyanda Hlatshwayo of the African Reclaimers Organisation representing waste collectors and Joe Stead of Spur Corporation covering hospitality.

Targets Redraw Packaging Design Boundaries

The 2030 framework requires all rigid plastic packaging to be designed for recyclability, while flexible plastic faces a 70 percent threshold. 

Members must also cut virgin fossil-fuel-based packaging intensity by 20 percent through higher recycled content, tackle problematic items and roll out reuse and refill systems. 

A 55 percent output recycling rate for plastic packaging completes the set, with the committee overseeing these goals across the next two years.

Predecessors Delivered Measurable Reductions

The outgoing committee closed its tenure having published the 2024 Impact Report and Design for Circularity Guide, launched the Plastic Reboot South Africa project and approved the 2030 targets. 

Under its watch, members reduced problematic plastic items by 35 percent, equal to 55 million fewer units reaching the market, cut poorly recyclable packaging by 82 percent, raised recycled content in packaging by 300 percent since the Pact formed in 2020, and lifted recyclable packaging tonnages by 28 percent.

Roadmap and Labels Guide Next Phase

The committee will steer publication of the 2030 Roadmap, recurring updates to the Design for Circularity Guidelines and the On-Pack Recycling Label Guide, delivery of Plastic Reboot South Africa solutions, and member recruitment. 

Members said the roadmap set out the pathway ahead, describing the targets as ambitious and noting they would drive progress toward a circular economy for plastic packaging, stimulating employment and drawing local investment into the packaging market.

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