PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2011

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 17 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 12/11 www.petpla.net separated PET flakes are then dried and extruded into small, clear pellets. These are delivered to end-users for manufacture of a number of items in everyday use, such as fibre for poly- ester carpets; fabric for T-shirts; and – most importantly – back into new PET containers for both food and non-food products. The venture has created over 18,000 jobs in the informal col- lector segment. Investment in recycling infrastructure Petco also supports projects with a strong focus on public and consumer- based education and awareness programmes and these initiatives and activities have contributed to the vis- ible recycling of PET. Many of these programmes, such as beach clean- ups, trade shows, baling equipment, and bulk bag collections, as well as training, have been introduced with support from Plastics SA. Work- shops for members on topics aimed to reduce contamination, such as designing PET bottles and containers with recycling, are hosted by Petco around South Africa. Along with major retailers Woolworths and Pick’n’Pay, Petco has established the Retail- ers for Recycling Forum. It aims to minimise the environmental impact of post-consumer packaging on the South African landscape by creat- ing awareness among consumers of recycling issues, and by supporting retailers as they work with their own suppliers to ensure that packaging is designed with reduction, re-use and recycling in mind. Petco hopes this initiative will ultimately include all retailers and all packaging materials, as well. Polypet (Polyoak Packaging Pty), a specialist in the manufacture of PET preforms and containers for the beverage, food and wine markets, recently won the Best Recycled Prod- uct of the Year competition, hosted by The South African Recycling Organi- sation (Sapro), for their 1.5l recycled PET (rPET) juice bottle sold at Wool- worths. Developing a common vision “This bottle is an excellent exam- ple of the way major retailers can influence an industry when they make a commitment towards environmen- tal responsibility and sustainability”, said Cheri Scholtz, Chair of Plastics SA’s Sustainability Council and CEO of Petco. She reported that, in 2010 alone, 99,400t of PET was used in beverage bottles in South Africa and continued to say that collective efforts and a common vision of reducing the industry’s impact on the environ- ment has enabled the industry to develop the most sustainable use for resources and to achieve the ability to ‘close the loop’ – recycle a bottle back into a bottle. At the same time, a vital new end-use market for the millions of PET bottles currently being recycled daily in South Africa has been cre- ated. “Using rPET in the Woolworth’s 1.5l juice bottle paves the way for other brand-owners and converters to utilise the growing percentage of recy- cled post-consumer PET bottles avail- able in our country, instead of relying on virgin PET,” she said. Recycling saves money Petco received a special com- mendation at The Mail and Guard- ian’s ‘Green the Future’ Awards for the work it has been doing to promote recycling of PET in South Africa. The awards are designed to inspire innovation and action to address the causes of climate change, reduce impacts on resources and improve eco-efficiency. Recycling 1t of PET plastic bot- tles saves 1.5t of carbon, as well as reducing the need for raw materials and saving energy. Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W light bulb for up to 6h. Petco is working with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and the two organisations have set stiff collection targets for 2015. The goal is for the public and private sector to put in place a cost-effective separation-at-source strategy. Objec- tives include the wider implement of kerbside collection, to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover plastics much more efficiently, and to completely eliminate the disposal of plastics to landfill. Low recycling rates adversely affect the ability to supply markets and will not encourage new projects. About Petco Petco is a member of the Recov- ery Action Group (RAG), which rep- resents the packaging waste stream and has put together a draft Industry Paper and Packaging Waste Manage- ment Plan. This plan will ultimately be used to improve the collection of recyclables from the municipal solid waste stream prior to landfill. Petco actively urges all businesses involved in the PET packaging industry chain to become members, in order to pro- tect and promote PET growth, aware- ness, recycling and reuse. It maintains that a strong membership base helps the PET industry to influence national environmental authorities. www.Petco.co.za Recycling 1t of PET bottles saves 1.5t of carbon