South African firms partner to boost PET recycling

PETCO, a plastics recycling company operating in South Africa, has made investments in its collection infrastructure throughout the country, which has allowed it to grow the nation’s recycling rate to 55 percent. A total of 90,000 metric tons of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) are collected for recycling annually in South Africa.

Cheri Scholtz, PETCO’s CEO, says the company is currently recycling more than half of all post-consumer PET bottles in the market and more bottles are being recycled than those going to landfill.

“Through the remarkable network of people, companies and organizations we work with, we created more than 60,000 income opportunities for small and micro-collectors, changing their lives and those of their families in immeasurable ways and injected almost 900 million South African rand ($75.7 million) into the economy to date,” says Scholtz.

Meanwhile, PETCO’s contracted recycling partner Extrupet operates a fiber producing plant in Cape Town, South Africa, and a bottle-to-bottle plant in Johannesburg, South Africa, where recycled PET plastic bottles are used to make new bottles or recycled into other products.

According to PETCO, the recycling capacity in the Western Cape region of South Africa is at maximum production and is unable to process any more bottles.

To overcome the challenge and prevent additional bottles being sent to landfills, PETCO associate firm Oasis Water, Extrupet and PETCO are transporting 15 million metric tons of baled bottles to Extrupet’s facility in Gauteng, South Africa, for processing.

Chandru Wadhwani, joint managing director of Extrupet and PETCO board member, says, “For me, the pressing driver here is to ensure that the extra volume of PET bottles that have found their way to the Western Cape on the back of the water crisis find a home in a recycled product.

“Just by way of scale, when we load 15 million metric tons on the truck being sponsored by Oasis Water, half a million bottles will now be recycled that otherwise wouldn’t have been. This for me is the ultimate value of this initiative and companies like Oasis Water need to be commended – they set the perfect example of what extended producer responsibility entails.”

Naas du Preez, Oasis Water’s group director, says, “With the influx of bottled water into Cape Town, we believe as a responsible brand, we must also assist and be depended upon to take care of the environment and have sponsored the transport as a sign of goodwill.

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

“We are also challenging fellow bottlers and players in the industry to do the same and assist with keeping recycling responsible.”

PETCO indicates it also is monitoring the situation to determine whether additional transportation will be needed to ease the burden on the Western Cape recycling capacity, and states it is encouraging other companies to offer financial support should additional transport capacity become necessary.