Market Study for South Africa: Circularity in the Plastics Value Chain – Opportunities and Barriers

How can South Africa successfully transition to a circular economy for plastics?

With a large mining sector which includes coal — a major feedstock for energy supply and plastic production — circularity of plastics in South Africa centres much on mechanical plastic recycling. This model is facilitated through voluntary Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging schemes for PET beverage, rigid polyolefins and some flexible polyolefins, polystyrene (both expanded and high-impact), and to a lesser degree vinyl packaging. Occasionally, other plastic types may be included by coincidence or through the specific sustainability and waste-management goals of producers.

Why plastics, and why now

South Africa is the continent’s most industrialised plastics economy, with established strengths in both plastics production and recycling. But because a large share of that plastic is derived from fossil feedstocks — including locally mined coal — the shift to a circular economy for plastics is closely bound up with South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. Progress so far has been driven mainly by voluntary EPR schemes and mechanical recycling, which leaves significant headroom in reuse, material substitution and design-for-recyclability. Understanding where those opportunities are strongest, and what stands in their way, is the reason this market study was commissioned.

In a quest to understand the plastics value chain in South Africa, the project team conducted a study across specific sectors — plastic packaging, construction, agriculture, electrical and electronic goods, and the automotive industry.

What the study looked at

The study considered market opportunities that existed in:

• Material substitution — to reduce the burden of problematic and currently unrecyclable plastics in South Africa;
• Reusable packaging models, categorised as 1. Refill at home, 2. Return from home, 3. Refill on the go, and 4. Return on the go, following the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (2019) Reuse — Rethinking Packaging framework;
• Recycling — closed-loop and open-loop, including the interventions needed to drive recyclability and the inclusion of recycled content.

The assessment was achieved through literature review, data analysis and interviews with relevant stakeholders. The study was led by GreenCape in collaboration with ACEN Foundation, WRAP, Trinomics, WWF South Africa and SAPRO, and forms part of the wider “Circularity in the plastics value chain in South Africa — opportunities and barriers” programme, supported by the World Bank’s PROBLUE initiative and the South Africa Plastics Pact.

References & further reading

This study sits within a growing evidence base on circular plastics in South Africa. For readers who want to go deeper:

• GreenCape — Circularity in plastics in South Africa (full report and industry briefs).
• South Africa Plastics Pact — Opportunities in a circular economy for plastics in South Africa (2022).
• Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) — Market Study of the Circular (& Waste) Economy of South Africa (2023).
• World Economic Forum — Trade and the Circular Economy: Plastics Action in South Africa.
• CSIR & World Bank — Advancing Circular Economy in South Africa.
• WWF South Africa — The Circular Plastics Economy.