More rPET capacity for South Africa on the horizon

South African producer responsibility organisation, Petco, is making progress at its new plastic recycling plant in Cape Town. The EUR 15 million facility will open at the start of 2025.

The site is the result of Petco’s partnership with recycling partner Extrupet. The latter will operate the facility, which will convert polyethylene (PET) bottles into new bottles. The venture will boost South Africa’s annual food-grade rPET capacity with 15 000 tonnes.

65% collection rate

Extrupet’s managing director Chandru Wadhwani says almost 65% of South Africa’s PET plastic bottles are currently collected for recycling. ‘With this increased capacity, we will be able to accommodate more plastic waste and strengthen South Africa’s position as a circular economy leader in Africa and the world.’

Wadhwani expects the recycling centre will help create a stable market for small and medium recycling players in the region. This includes the many waste pickers that source the bottles.

‘Wwe look forward to seeing the implementation of the waste picker service fee in order to continue to enable these waste pickers to do their work effectively and efficiently,’ he adds.

Strong foundation

‘The ongoing support to our 10 contracted recycling partners, like Extrupet, gives them the confidence to invest in the new equipment and infrastructure that is needed to recycle increasing tonnages of recyclable packaging,’ comments Petco ceo Cheri Scholtz.

Innovation doesn’t happen overnight; it’s a long journey. Scholtz points out Petco has been working together with Extrupet for over two decades. This has provided a ‘strong foundation’ for innovation and best practices.  

Impacting exports

Wadhwani said Extrupet had established its first bottle-to-food-grade line in Johannesburg in 2009, with the second following in 2014. ‘The third arrived during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Wadhwani expects the new plant will impact a number of export-oriented industries, including agriculture. ‘The Western Cape is a large exporter of fruit to global markets,’ he notes. ‘Our recycled PET ends up in packaging like fruit punnets. Under the new European Union legislation, you cannot export into that market if your packaging does not meet their requirements for certified recycled content.’

And he goes on to state: ‘Having capacity on the ground to make the raw material domestically will be critical for all export-oriented industries going forward.’