Picking up the pieces
ON THEIR knees.
That’s exactly how recycling business employees were positioned in the last quarter after the Covid-19 pandemic saw the collection rate in the city of Durban drop to 56%.
Buy-back centres and glass recycling companies nationwide appealed to the government to allow the resumption of the sale of alcohol to boost glass collection to avoid facing shutdown.
Despite the dreary outlook, the glass recycling industry has managed to stay afloat, celebrating the successes of the past financial year.
Figures released recently show that over the past financial year, the glass recycling rate in South Africa increased to 44%, with 54 017 glass banks being accessible across the country. More than 80% of all glass packaging is diverted from landfills, The Glass Recycling Company said.
“In excess of 2 million tons of returnable bottles have been diverted from landfills on an annual basis,” said Shabeer Jhetam, chief executive.
The latest input recycling rate of plastic in South Africa released by Plastics South Africa in 2019 stands at 42%, almost twice as much as Europe’s rate for polyethylene films, which stands at 23%, according to figures released by Plastics Today.
According to the Waste 2020 Market Intelligence Report by GreenCape, South Africa has one of the best plastic recycling rates in the world.
The World Economic Forum said Covid-19 had resulted in a global increase in demand for single-use plastics as people opted to use plastic personal protective equipment.
“As demand skyrockets for masks, gloves, screens and disposable bags, plastics have become indispensable during the pandemic, primarily because of their versatile, affordable and hygienic properties,” said Michelene Locke, sales director at ITB Flexible Packaging Solutions.
It is likely that even after the pandemic, plastics will be in great demand, Locke noted.
“Consumers, therefore, also carry responsibility in the plastic versus environment tale: they need to be better informed, and make choices according to the facts.
“Decisions to move away from plastics can sometimes be made without considering the environmental impact of the alternatives.”