Plastics SA announces latest industry production, recycling stats

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Although the industry has welcomed this growth, Hanekom stressed that much more needs to be done to support local recyclers and develop the industry to its full potential.

“In order for recycling to be effective, certain principles must be in place: products must be designed for recycling; the necessary systems must be in place to collect recyclable waste from the solid waste stream as early as possible; specifications must be in place for incoming recyclable waste in the sense that standards must be developed and adhered to for the recycling processes and subsequent recyclate; and environmental claims must be substantiated. While plastics collection and recycling have improved slightly, we are still not back to pre-Covid year levels recorded in 2019.

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"Recyclers, like the rest of the country's manufacturing sector, were negatively impacted by economic challenges caused by load shedding and rising transportation and energy costs. Although still considerably less than virgin polymers, recycling still consumes a lot of energy. To ensure economic quantities, recyclables must also be transported to reprocessing plants," Hanekom explained.

Recovery following Covid

South Africa's plastics manufacturing and recycling industries grew by 4.7% last year, indicating a welcome recovery from the devastation caused by the Covid pandemic.

“This is the total amount of polymers produced locally, net imported polymers and recycled polymers sold locally to converters. Locally recycled polymer made up 21.7% of virgin consumption – up from 20.6% in 2020. This growth is consistent with the country’s 4.9% growth in GDP during the same period,” Hanekom said.

The polymer consumption in South Africa is calculated using both locally produced virgin tonnages and imported/exported polymers as recorded by the South African Revenue Services (Sars). Plastics recyclers who sell their recyclate into the local market provide data on recycled polymer consumption. Domestic polymer consumption is limited to polymers that have been locally converted into plastics and semi-finished products.

Market sectors

The packaging sector continues to make up half of the overall plastic polymer consumption in South Africa - 29% for rigid packaging and 21% for flexible packaging. This is followed by the building and construction sector as the third biggest market at 14%.

"South Africa is not a packaging powerhouse – it is more the country’s weakness in the non‑packaging sector that should be highlighted. Despite the fact that the poor exchange rate and logistical challenges encountered in 2021 provided a much-needed boost to certain non-packaging-related markets, these sectors are lagging behind the rest of the world.

"The demand for rotationally moulded water tanks peaked in 2019 and 2020, but we saw a decline last year. Agriculture and automotive/transportation applications now only make up 7% of the domestic market. However, as a direct result of local sourcing by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and brand owners, there has been a slight increase in mining, engineering, and electric applications in their respective market sectors,” Hanekom reported.

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Job creation

South Africa's unemployment rate reached a new high of 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021, with more than 500,000 jobs lost at the time. The manufacturing and construction industries were particularly hard hit, and unfortunately the plastics industry did not escape this trend.

"Although our calculations show that approximately 57,400 informal jobs (e.g., waste pickers and employees of smaller entrepreneurial collectors) were retained in the collection industry this year, formal employment in plastics recycling slipped by 11% to 5,533 formal jobs. Females account for 23% of the workforce and are preferred for more detailed jobs such as waste sorting. The majority of the functions, however, require physically stronger male workers due to the physical nature of their work.

"A small number of contract workers (4% of the total) are hired on an as-needed basis to sort incoming recyclable waste during peak periods. This figure has dropped yet again as businesses reduce the number of jobs and instead buy sorted, cleaner waste to cut operational costs," Hanekom reported.

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End-markets for recycled material

Since 2012, South Africa’s recyclate production has increased by 36%. As a result, the average percentage of recycled content in new products has risen from 14.8% in 2012 to 16.7% in 2021. Various industry initiatives, individual company pledges and the ongoing efforts by recyclers are encouraging the use of recycled plastics in a variety of industries.

New end-markets for recycled plastics is critical to ensure the industry’s long-term viability. Plastics converters, who are the primary clients of recyclers, were severely strained as the overall economic climate deteriorated in 2021. Although recyclate has a market in almost every local market sector, recyclers have had to work harder than ever before to find sustainable markets for their materials. Despite operational challenges, only 7.7% of recyclate was exported as raw material to Asian and SADC plastics converters.

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2021 results satisfactory

"Considering the greater context of global events and local developments affecting the industry, we believe the 2021 results are satisfactory and in line with our expectations. We are aware of our shortcomings and where additional work is required. However, just as birds sing after a storm, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to every company, individual employee, partner, and supplier who assisted us in weathering a very difficult and tumultuous period in our history. As an industry, we will continue to work harder, embrace innovation, and aim higher in order to meet our own and society's expectations," said Hanekom.