Page 6 - Novus Holdings In The News 2019

Binning plastic: The answer is not what you think
Spokesperson: Tim Stewart, Group Executive of Packaging at Novus Holdings

Reports cite that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean continues to be the most widely recycled material in South
than fish. Despite these alarming statistics, consumers’ consumption Africa. With around 80 million tonnes being produced annually
of plastic-based products is not changing. In the spirit of National around the world, it is the most common plastic and is primarily
Recycling Week, taking place from 10 to 15 September 2018, Tim used in packaging such as plastic bags, plastic films, wrappings,
Stewart, Executive: Packaging at Novus Holdings, takes a look at the geomembranes, rotational moulded tanks, etc.
issue of plastic pollution and asks the question, what really needs to
change? Essentially, we have to become more responsible with the
materials we use, and therefore recycling is absolutely necessary
10 September 2018: We tend to blame plastic for polluting the as the population grows. As Hanekom recently said “the relevance
environment, but the way we are using it might very well be the of recycling is becoming more prominent as the image of plastics
problem. and the drive to create a long-term, circular economy demand end-
of-life solutions for plastics packaging and plastics in general.”
Earlier this year, Plastics SA released the audited results of the
biggest pollutants found on our beaches during 2017. The majority What about shopping bags?
of waste was food wrappers, plastic containers, bottle caps and Many local retailers have started making a concerted effort to do
lids, a trend that John Keiser, Sustainability Manager at Plastics SA, their part in reducing plastic waste and are introducing different
attributed to human behaviour that needed to change. He added alternatives for single-use plastic bags. However, all materials
that plastics are valuable as they make our lives easy, but they used (plastic, paper, cotton or fabric) have an impact on the
do need to be disposed of responsibly to avoid filling up landfills, environment.
waterways and oceans.
A recent study** done by the Danish Environmental Protection
Acknowledging that marine pollution is one of the biggest Agency finds that plastic bags are, contrary to popular belief,
challenges we face today, Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna kinder to the environment than many other re-usable bags, such as
Molewa, revealed in May this year that her department would be cotton or cloth bags.
launching the Keep South Africa Clean campaign to get South
Africans to essentially stop littering. It is a campaign that aims to “This is because the entire production cycle isn’t taken into
change attiudes and behaviour towards waste – and enable people account when people assume that cotton bags are better for the
to take responsibility for keeping their communities clean. environment. For example, it can take more than 20,000 litres of
water to produce 1kg of cotton,” says Stewart.
A culture of littering
Littering has unfortunately become commonplace, which is easily The study went further to say that cotton bags have the worst
seen along the highways, our streets and neighbourhoods. Litter is impact on the environment; an organic cotton bag would have
a threat to our tourist industry, and that in turn, could threaten job to be reused at least 149 times to make up for the negative
security. In addition, our takeaway culture has seen us increase the production methods used to produce it. It found that plastic bags
use of single-use plastics and throwing it away. made out of LDPE plastic, like the ones found at retailers, have by
far the lowest impact on the environment. In addition, it found that
What can fix it? Education and awareness is the first step, but we plastic bags should ideally be used as a garbage bags rather than
also need to accept that behavioural change is required. Plastic will disposing of them directly as waste. Other “heavy” plastic bags
always be around. It is our responsibility to commit to throwing made out of polypropylene, recycled PET-plastic and polyester by
our waste away – or better yet, recycling it - instead of simply contrast, should always be recycled.
dumping it on our streets. A litter-free society begins with our own
individual attitudes and behaviour. Forming part of Novus Holdings’ greater packaging offering,
ITB Plastics offers a 100% recyclable LLD plastic bag that is also
Are we recycling? washable. This bag is also made from recycled material; is thicker
Plastics SA recently released the plastics recycling figures for than an ordinary plastic grocery bag (a sturdier product with added
the year ending 2017, and for the seventh year running, plastics strength – robust for carrying up to 20kg) and; it can be used up to
recycling in South Africa has continued to grow, with more than 200 times (before being handed in for responsible recycling).
334,727 tonnes recycled back into raw material. With an input An environmental hero
recycling rate of 43.7%, South Africa has outperformed Europe
whose recycling rate currently sits at 31.1%. A shift in perception and behaviour can go a long way in fixing
the problem of plastic pollution. For this to work, all stakeholders
Anton Hanekom, Executive Director of Plastics SA, recently have to work together. Plastic is a material with many benefits,
said that recycling works well in South Africa because there is a and contributes greatly to job creation and the economy. Making
financial imperative, whereas in Europe, it is the right thing to do. better choices through not discarding single-use plastic, recycling
Locally, we rely on manual labour to sort the waste and recycle, and using plastic responsibly all plays a part. As Hanekom recently
whilst overseas, the entire process has become mechanised. said, plastic really can become the environmental hero.

Low-density polyethylene (PE-LD and PE-LLD) packaging films **Life Cycle Assessment of grocery carrier bags, February 2018

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