Plastic packaging recycling starts with the design
Photo Credit: WWF
Each one of us can assist with plastic recycling by looking for the distinctive OPRL recyclable logo on the packaging of any product we buy.
A WWF Nedbank Green Trust project called the SAPRO Design for Recycling (D4R) Guidance is advocating for industry-wide adoption and standardisation of the use of On-Pack Recycling Labels (OPRLs). Items should only be labelled as “Recyclable” if they are recycled in practice and at scale in South Africa.
‘What this means is that the plastic packaging is not only recycled in terms of being collected and sorted, but that the materials from which it is made can be reprocessed into new materials at scale,’ says the General Manager of the South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO), Oliver Bonstein, who is leading the D4R project. SAPRO is the industry association for plastic recycling/reprocessing companies. The project is co-funded by Nedbank and the plastic packaging recycling producer responsibility organisation, Polyco. ‘The aim is to motivate all packaging designers and manufacturers to use materials that can be feasibly recycled and reprocessed. This would also reduce the need for virgin plastic,’ Bonstein explains.
‘If this is achieved then plastic packaging can be more practical and environmentally- friendly compared to metals and glass which have a higher carbon footprint on a lifecycle basis. ‘However,’ he qualifies, ‘when plastic packing is not designed with recycling in mind, it can be a major pollutant as it gets discarded, burnt, sent to landfills or lands up in the environment.’
The project provides a free-to-use online D4R platform with design tools that offer usable and accessible D4R guidance for all packaging designers and manufacturers. The online platform was developed by the SAPRO-led Designed for Earth plastic packaging design recycling initiative. https://www.plasticrecyclingsa.co.za/design-for-recycling-guidelines/
‘It is because of organisations like SAPRO that South Africa has a well-established and recycling industry, ranked among the world leaders in this, ahead of the USA and UK, and comparable to many European countries,’ says Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Investment at Nedbank.
Bonstein explains: ‘The D4R platform shows packaging designers the impact that different packaging choices will have on the recyclability of their overall packaging item. Designers simply put each packaging element into the tool and it tells them if it aids or impedes recycling.’
For example, certain additives and heavy direct printing added to a package makes it non-recyclable. Other elements which impede recycling include PVC shrink wrap and labels with non-water-soluble adhesive. Bonstein explains that plastic packaging is often over-engineered, with internal foil that hinders the recycling process or designed to last for years when the product only lasts for months.
‘The goal is to assist packaging designers and manufacturers of plastic packaging to use materials that can actually be recycled, and to achieve standardisation of OPRLs across all products and brands in South Africa. This would help to increase the percentage of packaging that can be recycled.’
It will also deter brands from labelling something as recyclable when there is less than a 30% chance of it getting recycled. This is misleading and can be construed as “greenwashing”. It is important to have this benchmark for Recyclable OPRLs, for the credibility of OPRLs and plastic packaging in general, also in light of current high profile international law cases where plastics and packaging producers have been taken to court for misleading the public about the recyclability of their products.
Design for Recyclability is becoming a requirement worldwide and having globally harmonised D4R standards would aid in the export of locally produced goods. South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations which came into force in 2021, which puts the financial burden of pollution onto the producers. ‘In the future, brands will be liable to pay higher fees for manufacturing products that are not deemed to be recyclable,’ Bonstein explains. ‘The EPR feeds will be paid to producer responsibility organisations (PROs) such as Polyco – whose mandate is to fund capacity-building in the plastic recycling industry.’
There are currently approximately 295 plastic recycling companies in South Africa – from informal businesses to sophisticated companies that are leading the world. Bonstein explains. ‘SAPRO’s mission is to make sure packing is designed for recycling and that OPRLs are applied honestly and consistently across brands and products,’ says Bonstein. ‘This will empower consumers to make informed decisions and to play an active part in separating their used packaging for the recycling stream.’
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