The South African Plastics Pact, a pioneering voluntary industry body, has announced the election of its new Steering Committee. This leadership team will represent the interests of Pact members, direct the work of the Secretariat, GreenCape, and drive strategic decisions as the initiative transitions to its ambitious 2030 targets.

The outgoing Steering Committee successfully concluded its tenure, leaving behind a robust foundation. Under their guidance since 2024, the Pact published the 2024 Impact Report and the Design for Circularity Guide, launched the Plastic Reboot – South Africa project, and formally approved the new 2030 targets.

Crucially, during their term, member companies achieved significant milestones, including:

• 35% reduction in problematic plastic items (55 million fewer items placed on the market),
• 82% reduction in poorly recyclable packaging,
• 300% increase in recycled content used in packaging (since the inception of the Pact in 2020).
• 28% increase in tonnages of recyclable packaging placed on the market

Incoming SA Plastics Pact Steering Committee Chair, Ralph Jewson, Project Manager in the Sustainability Office at Woolworths, commended the extensive progress made by the previous Steering Committee:

“Under Blain van Wyk’s leadership, the previous steering committee deserve great credit. They were able to guide the Pact’s progress with significant impact, including strengthening our collaboration with the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.”

The new Steering Committee have already outlined their vision for the term ahead:

“The imminent publication of our 2030 Roadmap lays out the pathway and strategy for the work to come. Our 2030 targets are ambitious and will further drive industry’s progress towards creating a circular economy for plastic packaging in the country, thereby stimulating job creation and driving local investment into the packaging market.”

In speaking of his election as the new Steering Committee chair, Ralph highlighted the alignment of the role with Woolworth’s Good Business Journey.

“Woolworths’s vision is to be one of the world’s most responsible retailers, with sustainability at the core to our business. Packaging and waste form one of eight core focus areas of our Good Business Journey and it is with this in mind that I look forward to contributing towards the direction of the Pact moving forward.”

Value chain representation

The Steering Committee is designed to ensure fair representation and joint leadership across the entire plastics value chain and to leverage to power of the Pact, which enables strong collaboration. The newly onboarded members include:

• Brand owners: Maritza van Dyk (PepsiCo SA) and Yase Godlo (Unilever).
• Retailers: Vaughan Pierce (Pick n Pay) and Ralph Jewson (Woolworths).
• Converters: Michelle Penlington (Polyoak Packaging) and Shivern Reddy (CCL Label SA).
• Recyclers: Johann Conradie (Myplas) and Chandru Wadhwani (Extrupet).
• Hospitality / food service: Joe Stead (Spur Corporation).
• Waste collectors: Luyanda Hlatshwayo (African Reclaimers Organisation).
• National & local government: Pamela Nxumalo (National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)) and Alison Evans (City of Cape Town).
• Non-Profit Organisation: Janine Osborne (Sustainable Seas Trust).
• Pact Network Conveners: Andrea Cantu (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) and Andrea Cino (WRAP).

Looking ahead, the new Steering Committee will be tasked with guiding the Pact’s activities over the next two years, as the members begin work towards the new 2030 targets.

The new 2030 targets which include:

• Target 1: A 20% intensity reduction in virgin fossil-fuel-based packaging through increased recycled content, addressing problematic items, and introducing widespread reuse/refill systems.
• Target 2: 100% of rigid plastic packaging to be designed for recyclability.
• Target 3: 70% of flexible plastic packaging to be designed for recyclability.
• Target 4: Achieving a 55% output recycling rate for plastic packaging.

Additionally, the Steering Committee will also oversee progress towards key strategic activities including the impending publication of the 2030 Roadmap, recurring updates to the Design for Circularity Guidelines and the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) Guide, the delivery of ‘Plastic Reboot – South Africa’ solutions aimed at tackling problematic items and increasing reuse and refill systems and the recruitment of new Pact members.