Pretoria-based Jimi Son is single-handedly responsible for recycling a mountainous 20 tonnes of polystyrene per month! The material is used for decorative picture frames and mouldings in homes throughout South Africa and, soon, Son will need 100 tonnes per month to meet demand.

By Sarah Walters

In Afrikaans there is a well-known saying which goes: ‘‘n boer maak ‘n plan’. Literally translated, it means a farmer makes a plan, and refers to a farmer’s ability to think on his feet to find a solution to a problem.

Although he is not a farmer, Korean-born and South African raised Jimi Son has come to embody the true South African attitudes of resilience, creativity, and the ability to find a solution for a problem.

This Pretoria resident is busy transforming the face of South Africa’s recycling industry by finding new ways of recycling post-consumer polystyrene and single-handedly diverting thousands of tonnes of polystyrene from the country’s landfills.

Polystyrene recycling passion

Son’s entry into the recycling industry is a result of the exposure and experience he gained at his parents’ successful extrusion business. As manufacturers and suppliers of picture frame mouldings, profiles, cornices, and even embellishments used on coffins that are sold directly to the end-market, Son’s father frequently had to deal with shipping delays and exchange rate fluctuations, which had a dramatic impact on his business.

“This caused us to start looking around for local, readily available material that we could recycle and use in the products instead of imported virgin materials.

“At that time, polystyrene was available in abundant supply, but was considered to be difficult to recycle and had very limited end-markets,” Son explains.

Other obstacles that they had to face included transporting the very light, but bulky, material to their plant, working with often heavily contaminated and soiled products, and the different colours of polystyrene that they had to use.

Son refused to accept defeat, and started adapting the company’s existing machines.

“We soon found that we were able to effectively recycle and use all kinds of polystyrene for our specific purposes – even slightly dirty, post-consumer, coloured, or high-impact polystyrene,” he says, adding that they have been accepting and using every type of polystyrene that they get from waste collectors.

Partnerships value

Son is quick to point out that his success is not the result of individual efforts, but credits the power of forming strategic partnerships. “We realised, early on, that we could not do this alone.

“Since we started our operations, we have taken great care to build and grow the relationships we have formed with local polystyrene manufacturers, waste management companies, municipalities, and associations such as the Polystyrene Packaging Council. We also buy factory scrap from other polystyrene factories and pelletise the material in-house.”

Son currently recycles 20 tonnes of polystyrene per month, which goes into decorative picture frames and mouldings, with future growth projections showing that he will soon need in excess of 100 tonnes per month to keep up with the demand.

“We need a lot of polystyrene, in every shape and colour that we can get. To this end, we are also very grateful that our paths have crossed with those of Adri Spangenberg, of the Polystyrene Council, who has been instrumental in putting us into contact with sources of material around the country,” Son says.

Today, the company employs 30 people, on a full-time basis, at its factory in Silverton, Pretoria, and has also expanded its operations into Cape Town.

Its new recycling plant in Durban is expected to open within the next few months.

“We work closely with local municipalities and waste management companies to ensure we have their support and that they know that we are accepting any polystyrerene they can send our way for recycling,” concludes Son.