In an effort to reduce plastic pollution from packaging in the food and beverage sector, South Africa is set to launch the Plastic Reboot Project: Circular Solutions for Plastic Pollution in South Africa in Pretoria.
The project will transform how plastic is designed, used, and managed across the entire packaging value chain. The multi-year project aims to achieve a systems-level shift in the plastics value chain across South Africa. Its vision is to contribute to South Africa’s transition toward a thriving, equitable and inclusive circular economy for plastic packaging and short-lived plastic products in the food and beverage sector, which would create well-being for society and the environment.
The project focuses specifically on upstream and midstream stages of the plastic packaging lifecycle:
- Upstream: Eliminate unnecessary, avoidable, and problematic plastic products and hazardous additives; shift to sustainable alternatives and reuse and refill; and use recycled plastics as feedstock, all of which will displace virgin plastic production.
- Midstream: Support innovation to extend the life of products where plastics are necessary, by creating reusable or recyclable products and by creating circular systems (reuse, refill, repair, resell, repurpose); as well as reducing unnecessary consumption of plastics by consumers and commercial users, especially for short-lived plastic products.
- Downstream: The project will not directly fund downstream activities (among them collection, segregation, recycling, incineration, landfill, disposal of residues, and clean-ups of legacy plastics in the environment), but its upstream and midstream interventions will synergise and complement existing initiatives and projects in this stage.
