Plastic packaging producer responsibility organisation Polyco reports that Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barabara Creecy has approved its extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme fees, which were submitted on November 5, 2021.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s introduction of EPR regulations is aimed at promoting the circularity of plastics packaging and growing the plastics recycling market.

EPR places the responsibility on producers to ensure their products are handled responsibly after use.

Polyco provides support for its members to achieve this through investment in recycling infrastructure, innovation, technology, education around improved packaging and sustainable design, increased stakeholder collaboration, and public awareness and education campaigns that encourage consumers to reduce, reuse and recycle.

The approval permits Polyco to further invest in the growth of plastic recycling in South Africa and, ultimately, reduce the amount of plastic packaging waste going to landfill or otherwise ending up in the environment.

Over the past decade, Polyco has invested over R72-million into the plastic recycling industry, growing its recycling capacity by 118 000 t through a voluntary scheme.

Polyco hopes the approval of its mandatory EPR scheme fees will result in an increase in the total amount of fees paid to Polyco, enabling it to continue its work with multiple industry stakeholders, including producers, brand owners, retailers, recyclers, informal waste collectors, converters and consumers.

Polyco collects EPR fees from member organisations and, in turn, invests in the plastic recycling industry.

Under Polyco’s EPR scheme, packaging produced in South Africa has EPR fees paid over to Polyco, whereas imported packaging has fees paid to Polyco by the relevant importer.

Polyco CEO Patricia Pillay says the scheme will be successful in growing the plastics recycling industry in the coming years. “We would like to thank our good standing members that have been paying their EPR fees since January, which allowed us to do this important work.”

She adds that Polyco’s membership base has grown from under 40 polyolefin plastic-packaging manufacturers to more than 600 registered member companies from across the plastics value chain in the space of ten months.

As required by EPR regulations, producers need to either develop their own EPR scheme, or join a producer responsibility organisation like Polyco, which is responsible for implementing an EPR scheme.

Polyco’s EPR scheme is responsible for working with recyclers and collectors, cooperating with municipalities to increase collection initiatives, integrating informal waste collectors, promoting a market for recyclate and secondary products, and improving recycling infrastructure.