The South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) has announced that entries are now open for its third annual Best Recycled Plastics Product of the Year Competition.

According to SAPRO Chairman, Douglas Greig, the winners of the 2012 competition will once again be announced at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, 13 September 2012 as one of the highlights of the plastic industry’s national Clean-Up South Africa Week.

“This competition has grown in leaps and bounds since we introduced the awards for the first time three years ago. We are purposefully aiming to create what has been called “the Oscars of the Plastics Industry” as we are acknowledge products that are made from post-consumer recycled materials and encourage brand owners and industrial designers to consider recycled plastics as a material of choice,” Greig says.

The organisers will be inviting submissions in the following four product categories:

1) Products made from 100 % recyclate
2) Product containing a certain percentage post-consumer recycled content
3) Products made from a mixture of post-consumer recycled materials
4) Novel or artistic products made from recycled plastic

“We were thrilled with the entries we received in previous years, and are expecting to an increase in both the quality and quantity of submissions for the 2012 Awards as the entrants reflect the local plastic recycling industry’s growth in size, sophistication and value.”

Last year’s overall winner and recipient of the PACSA Trophy for the Best Recycled Product of the Year was Polypet who entered its 1.5 litre cooldink bottle manufactured for Woolworths.

“Polypet has set the bar high for entrants to follow this year, as the judges will once again be looking for products that contain a high percentage recycled contents and has a wide consumer acceptance,” Greig explains.

A panel of plastics experts will be judging entries based on the following criteria:

• Life expectancy of product
• Sustainability and long-term demand and market acceptance for product (i.e. will it still sell in 5 years’ time?)
• Tonnage (potential tonnages) diverted from landfills and converted into a product Replacement of alternative materials
• Technical achievements in manufacturing excellence to overcome recycled material challenges
• Measures taken to ensure product consistency and customer satisfaction despite recycled material content

“Although various weighting could be used to judge products objectively, we are overall looking for products that will help us focus attention on the quality of products and innovation that we have come to associate with local plastics recycling industry,” Greig says.

Any company in the SADC region may enter, provided that the recycled material originated in
South Africa. Products that were entered in previous years but did not win, is also eligible to enter again.

Entry forms, rules and competition information can be obtained from the SAPRO website (www.sapro.biz), the Plastics SA website (www.plasticsinfo.co.za/events/sapro) or could be requested from the organisers directly via email: Annabe@absamail.co.za

The closing date for entries is Friday, 24 August 2012.