Producer responsibility organisation Polyco has invested R1.89-million in waste service provider New Earth Recycling, strengthening one of South Africa’s only dedicated recyclers of post-consumer and agricultural polystyrene (PS) and expanding the country’s limited domestic processing capacity of this plastic type.

This is Polyco’s third consecutive year of support for the Cape Town facility and reflects the broader need to build viable recycling solutions for plastics that are technically recyclable but have struggled to attract commercial investment, the organisation points out.

New Earth Recycling, a 100% Black-owned enterprise founded in 2013, has grown from a small social-impact initiative into a specialist polystyrene recycler with full-service processing capability.

The facility has established a consistent track record of producing high-quality, contamination-free recycled material for local manufacturers, Polyco notes.

Polystyrene recycling has historically lagged behind other plastic streams as a viable investment opportunity in the circular economy. Virgin polystyrene is relatively inexpensive, end markets remain limited, and expanded polystyrene is 95% to 98% air, making it costly to transport and difficult for municipalities and small collectors to handle without specialised equipment.

Despite these constraints, New Earth is one of the few facilities nationally that has successfully specialised in recovering these difficult streams at scale, demonstrating that even low-value and highly contaminated PS materials can be diverted from landfill, Polyco highlights.

Polyco’s continued funding has helped the company modernise and expand its ability to process both expanded and high impact polystyrene. Investments made in 2023 and 2024 allowed the facility to complete its full-service offering, increase automation, and more than double its processing capacity for post-consumer material.

This latest investment will boost New Earth Recycling’s operational capacity with a new bale opener, a conveyor-driven sorting line, and three hot-melt densifiers, improving feedstock preparation and densification. This will allow the company to collect, prepare, and process far higher volumes of polystyrene, especially the lower-value, harder-to-handle grades.

Close to 99% of the recycled material produced at the facility is used in South African applications that remain fully recyclable, contributing directly to a circular plastics economy.

Polyco project manager Adriaan van Wyk said the three-year partnership demonstrated how targeted investment through extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations could unlock impact where commercial incentives fall short.

“New Earth Recycling has shown the kind of resilience and innovation that South Africa needs. They have proved that even the most difficult polystyrene streams can be recovered at scale. Our funding since 2023 has been a real step change for the regional polystyrene ecosystem. Supporting them again in 2025 is an investment in capacity, in jobs, and in long term circular growth,” he commented.

Looking ahead, New Earth plans to expand its catchment area, continue improving processing efficiency and grow domestic end markets over the next three to five years. With Polyco’s support, the company aims to play a larger role in diverting polystyrene away from landfill and into high value manufacturing.