SAVA survey focused on phasing out of heavy metals

© Kathleen Ellis – 123RF.com

"One of the major objectives the local PVC industry had to meet this past year was the phasing out of potentially dangerous or hazardous heavy metals from the PVC production process, including chlorinated paraffins, EDC and VCM, mercury, lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, bisphenol A and DEHP," says SAVA CEO, Delanie Bezuidenhout.

"SAVA believes that raw material suppliers, product manufacturers, product distributors and consumers are joint stewards for the responsible and sustainable production, use and disposal of PVC products. Upon endorsing a key commitment, our members and voluntary signatories of the PSP are bound to an open disclosure commitment and are required to supply general data related to a specific commitment to an independent auditor," she explains.

Health risks

The majority of the 32 respondents in the 2013/4 survey were convertors, followed by additive manufacturers, additive importers, product importers and compounders.

Heavy metals were traditionally used in the PVC production process owing to their ability to act as heat stabilisers, flame retardants and plasticisers or for offering anti-corrosive properties to products. However, they hold certain health risks to the environment, end users and/or the factory workers involved in the manufacturing process. As a result, South Africa is following international trends of completely phasing out these ingredients in order to ensure compliance.

The survey has shown a high level of compliance by SAVA member companies. Each additive had its own key commitment from signatories, as well as different compliance dates. SAVA's survey highlighted progress made with regards to the reduction in the amounts of additives imported and/or used and the levels of compliance. Where signatories were found to be non-compliant, SAVA will continue to engage with these companies and commit them to a prompt phase-out date.

The promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act has placed recycling and the reduction of materials to landfill high on the agenda for the local PVC industry. The new Waste Act provides for the determination of waste management charges and its review, as well as for the collection of these charges through the national fiscal system.

Purpose of bureau

"It also makes provision for the establishment of a Waste Management Bureau within the structures of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The main purpose of the Waste Management Bureau will be to process, monitor and evaluate any Industry Waste Management Plans submitted to DEA," Bezuidenhout says.

It is SAVA's view that the outlined legislation either holds an opportunity for the local PVC industry to pro-actively submit and bring into effect its own Industry Waste Management Plan (IndWMP) or it could potentially hold a risk should the industry decide to adopt a 'wait-and-see' approach.

"When it comes to legislation and regulations, companies tend to underestimate the cost of non-compliance, which, within the framework of the NPSWM, could be dealt with by the implementation of a government managed tax similar to the plastic bag levy of which we are all too familiar with. Product manufacturers need to understand the true costs of failure, assess the business implications, and adopt long-term strategies to avoid these costs," she says.