The South African Plastics Pact (SAPP), which includes 44 members comprising mostly retailers and manufacturers, ensured that there are 34.7-million fewer problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging items on the market in 2021.

This compares with the 108-million problematic or unnecessary items that were sold by members in 2020.

SAPP finds in its latest yearly report, the first of which provides a comparative analysis against a baseline report that was published last year, that 81.2% of plastic packaging available on the market and manufactured by the pact’s members is currently recyclable.

This compares with 80.7% of plastic packaging being recyclable in 2020.

The report also finds that the amount of plastic recycled in South Africa in 2020 was 43.2% of the total plastics placed on the market, with a 35.4% average recycling rate for plastic packaging.

Additionally, there was 20.8% average recycled content across all plastic packaging, with 11.7% in consumer or primary packaging, increasing from 7.6% in 2020, and retailer/secondary and logistics/tertiary packaging at 37.1%.

SAPP’s members include Pepsico, Clicks Croup, Coca-Cola Africa, Danone, Distell, HomeChoice, Massmart, Myplas, Nampak Rigids, Pick n Pay, Shoprite Group, Spar, Spur Holdings, The Foschini Group, Tiger Brands, Tuffy, Unilever, Addis and Woolworths, alongside other manufacturers and organisations.

The members have since the pact’s establishment in 2020 committed to take action on problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (reuse) delivery models; ensure that 100% of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable; ensure that 70% of plastic packaging is effectively recycled; and to achieve 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging by 2025.

SAPP secretariat and GreenCape circular economy analyst Wade de Kock says the pact’s members have all remained committed in the pursuit of the pact’s 2025 targets and continue to trail blaze the path towards a circular economy for plastics.

“The demonstrable progress made by members serves as a pacemaker for a transition to circularity through implementing proactive and intentional industry self-regulation principles,” he notes.

The SAPP members continue to phase out unrecyclable plastic packaging products, including shrink sleeves on bottles and jars, and barrier bags used to weigh loose fruit and vegetables.

Various trials with alternative products are set to be undertaken this year.