Douw Steyn, sustainability manager at Plastics SA, recently completed his 25th year in the position, which milestone he celebrated quietly. We asked him what changes he’s observed with regards plastics in the environment over this period. How did you get involved at Plastics SA in the first place? Did you know anything about plastics at… Read more »
Benjamin Von Wong, 35, is a Canadian artist, activist, and photographer best known for his environmental art installations and hyper-realist art style. He is a motivational speaker and an advocate against Ocean Plastics, and is also notable for creating several viral social media campaigns. When Tomra wanted to make recycling interesting, Von Wong created a… Read more »
http://https://youtu.be/bm1rH70wfJo A nonprofit known as The Ocean Cleanup is continuing its mission of ridding the world of ocean plastic by catching garbage before it makes its way to the ocean. The organization has introduced new third-generation garbage Interceptors that it says can remove larger amounts of debris more efficiently and at a lower cost. The organization is installing the… Read more »
UNILEVER’S oral care brands including Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup have plans to convert their entire global toothpaste portfolio to recyclable tubes by 2025. After four years of development, the recyclable tubes will be available later this year in two of Unilever’s biggest oral care markets: France and India. First launching in France with the company’s… Read more »
BECAUSE 23% of global energy consumption can be attributed to friction losses, components with reduced friction represent an important contribution to conserving resources and achieving climate protection targets. In the case of plastics, reduced friction can also reduce microplastics in the environment. With the development of microcapsules filled with liquid lubricants for plastics, the Potsdam… Read more »
COVESTRO has developed an innovative process for the chemical recycling of polyurethane (PU) flexible foam from used mattresses. On average, mattresses contain 15 to 20kg of foam, which results in a large amount of waste at the end of their useful life. The foam is primarily made of two important raw materials. While other chemical… Read more »
THE Coca-Cola Company will become a Global Implementation Partner for The Ocean Cleanup’s river project. The unique partnership brings the international company and technological non-profit together behind a clear objective: to stem the tide of plastic pollution entering the world’s oceans, by first intercepting waste in rivers. Partnering Coca-Cola’s scale and global network with The… Read more »
THE ALPLA Group, a global packaging producer and specialist in recycling, is consolidating its developments in relation to biodegradable packaging solutions under its new Blue Circle Packaging label. Home-compostable coffee capsules are the first product available on the market. Under the Blue Circle Packaging label, ALPLA will offer its customers packaging solutions that are all… Read more »
PROJECT STOP and its partners are celebrating milestones in preventing plastic leakage to the environment in Indonesia. From 2017 until end of 2020, the programme has brought waste management services to more than 133 500 people, built five material recovery facilities which will collectively process 150 tons of waste per day, and contributed to permanently preventing… Read more »
MICHELIN has successfully validated the use of Carbios’ enzymatic recycling technology for PET plastic waste in its tyres. Carbios confirms the potential of its recycled PET to address all types of applications – from bottles to clothing fibres and now technical fibres. The validation of Carbios’ technology in Michelin’s tests, marks a new step towards… Read more »
DOW and Empower, a Norwegian circular platform company which uses blockchain technology to track plastics waste, have launched a new study as part of an ongoing partnership, which will examine the feasibility of advancing fully circular value chains in Nigeria to help close the loop on plastics waste. The study, which will be part funded… Read more »
MATERIALS manufacturer Covestro has introduced its first material developed by the additive manufacturing business recently acquired from DSM: a glass-fibre filled recycled PET for 3D pellet printing. Made from post-consumer PET waste, Arnite® AM2001 GF (G) rPET fits Covestro’s vision for a circular economy. The glass-fibre filled pellet material brings structural performance to a part… Read more »
RANMARINE Technology, a drone technology company from the Netherlands, specialises in remote controlled and autonomous drones called ‘Sharks that operate on water, extracting unwanted material and gathering data about the marine environment. RanMarine’s WasteShark™, modelled on Earth’s biggest fish, the whale shark, will ‘eat’ plastics and other floating litter; extract alien and pest vegetation; and… Read more »
TRAIL runners are generally pretty good about minimising the use of disposable plastics. A lot of them run with soft flasks, hydration packs and collapsible, reusable silicon cups – all of which help to cut down on single-use plastics. Well-organised trail running races rarely have disposable cups at checkpoints and water stations, and competitors are… Read more »
By Plastics News Europe Bioplastics could potentially help restore the “bad image” of plastics, says Hans-Josef Endres, head of IKK Institute for Plastics and Circular Economy at Leibniz University of Hanover. “Bio-based plastics are climate-neutral as each plant absorbs as much CO2 in its lifetime as it emits when it is burned or it… Read more »
A DESIRE to clean up his beloved Soweto, educate the community and combat the problem of overfull landfills has seen Pendowave founder, Gordon Nkuta, build a thriving recycling business and now earn the support of one of the world’s largest PET plastic converters. Nkuta started his buy-back centre in Diepkloof Zone 6 in 2017, collecting… Read more »
ALTHOUGH more can and should be done to encourage South African households to recycle, the latest Plastics/SA recycling figures clearly show that South Africa has a dynamic, growing and well-supported plastics recycling industry. “Despite facing major challenges last year, the plastics industry made important strides forward. Plastic bags manufacturers removed fillers to produce bags that… Read more »
A 4.5m-long by 2.5m-high wire and plastic sculpture of ‘A Fish Named Faithful’ has been unveiled at the V&A Waterfront to highlight the impact of plastic waste on marine life. Comissioned by online eco lifestyle and health retailer Faithful to Nature as one of the organisation’s Plastic Free July initiatives, A Fish Named Faithful was… Read more »
RANMARINE Technology, a drone technology company from the Netherlands, specialises in remote controlled and autonomous drones called ‘Sharks’ that operate on water, extracting unwanted material and gathering data about the marine environment. RanMarine’s WasteShark™, modelled on Earth’s biggest fish, the whale shark, will ‘eat’ plastics and other floating litter; extract alien and pest vegetation; and… Read more »
TO reduce the negative environmental impacts of plastics and accelerate the transition from a linear plastic material flow to a closed loop or circular flow situation, the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-SA) and the South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) are spearheading the development of the South African Plastics Pact. The partners also have the… Read more »
A team of researchers working at the US Department of Energy says it has created a kind of plastic that could lead to products that are 100% recyclable. The team works at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. It recently reported the discovery in a study in the journal Nature Chemistry…. Read more »
GENERALLY, all biodegradable plastics are bioplastics, and that is why naturally occurring microorganisms can consume them, unlike fossil-fuel derived plastics. However, not all bioplastics are necessarily biodegradable to industry standards. This is because, while bioplastics are defined as being based on natural components, they don’t necessarily need to be entirely derived from them. Theoretically, developing… Read more »
INEOS Styrolution, a global leader in styrenics, has completed the first successful test runs producing virgin polystyrene from previously depolymerized material. These experiments, completed at the company’s Antwerp site in Belgium, can be seen as the practical proof of the recyclability of polystyrene. A lab-scale quantity of general purpose polystyrene produced from 100% recycled styrene… Read more »
THE South African plastics industry has once again proved that it does not merely pay lip service when it comes to looking after the environment – it acts on its promises! Under the guidance of Plastics|SA’s Sustainability Director, Douw Steyn, supported by the KZN Marine Waste Network and various other organisations and institutions, more than… Read more »
KOUGA municipality in the Eastern Cape is gearing up to build the first plastic road in SA. Kouga municipality mayor Horatio Hendricks said at a media launch in Jeffreys Bay that local civil engineering and construction companies SP Excel and Scribante Construction would partner with Scottish firm MacRebur to build a one kilometrem stretch in… Read more »
CHEM-I-PLAST, the Johannesburg-based materials and additive supplier, in conjunction with Afritrade, the machinery supplier, are the sole distributors of BioSphere, a biodegradable additive that accelerates the natural biodegradation of plastics at a rate which is faster than any other product available in the market. BioSphere, which can be added to a vast array of raw… Read more »
AS CONSUMER demand for sustainable products grows, bioplastics – which can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse emissions – will become more prevalent. Production of bioplastics is expected to grow by as much as 20% by 2022, and as it does, consumer understanding of bioplastics will need to grow with it. A… Read more »
THE new market and trend report ‘Bio-based Building Blocks and Polymers – Global Capacities, Production and Trends 2018-2023’ from the German nova-Institute, shows capacities and production data for all bio-based polymers. In 2018 the total production volume reached 7.5 million tons – already 2% of the production volume of petrochemical polymers. The potential is much… Read more »
Increase in the amount of disposable diapers found illegally dumped THE results of the 2018 International Coastal Clean-up have just been released. During the 2018 event, 19 563 volunteers collected 241 425 items nationally in audited clean-ups that took place along the country’s 2 500km coastline. Although this is the official figure, many more volunteers… Read more »
By Grace Nolan, British Plastics & Rubber EXPERTS at Fraunhofer UMSICHT are discussing bioplastics and its compatibility with recycling. The new German packaging law took effect on 1 January, which allows for more food packaging, such as fruit and vegetables, to be made from sustainable plastics. The new law creates incentives for using products made… Read more »
Nearly 30 plastics companies commit over $1.0-billion to help end plastic waste in the environment AROUND 30 companies who have co-founded a global alliance to advance solutions that reduce and eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has committed over $1.0 billion with the goal… Read more »
More than 130 assist in largest clean-up to date ONE of South Africa’s most famous landmarks, Robben Island, was freed from some of its waste burden as more than 130 volunteers, guided by the national PET Recycling Company (PETCO) and Plastics SA, embarked on the island’s biggest ever waste collection drive. The tourist attraction and… Read more »
THE Ocean Cleanup Workers on The Ocean Cleanup project deployed the high density polyethylene pipe and plastic skirt system in the Pacific Ocean late last year. The plastic pipe-and-skirt system placed in the Pacific Ocean to corral marine litter needs repair for “structural malfunctioning” about two-and-a-half months after being deployed to the garbage patch halfway… Read more »
Scientists find 93% of samples analysed contained levels of microplastics UNIQUE information on the global concentration of microplastics pollution in our oceans has been presented at an international science conference in Lanzarote. The information was collected from seawater samples taken during the Volvo Ocean Race, which, for the first time, combined a global sporting event… Read more »
A biodegradable film 50,000 times thinner than human hair AS global sea temperatures rise with climate change, some of the most fragile biomes, like coral reefs are being threatened. The rising temperatures can cause coral bleaching, when corals expel the colourful algae living in their tissues, turning them white. While bleached corals aren’t dead, they… Read more »
THE Ocean Cleanup Workers on The Ocean Cleanup project deployed the high density polyethylene pipe and plastic skirt system in the Pacific Ocean late last year. The plastic pipe-and-skirt system placed in the Pacific Ocean to corral marine litter needs repair for “structural malfunctioning” about two-and-a-half months after being deployed to the garbage patch halfway… Read more »
AS plastic regulations and bans on plastic bags and other single-use plastic items such as drinking straws increase globally, the demand and market value of biodegradable polymers exceeds $1-billion (about R15-billion) and will rise sharply to $1.7-billion (about R20-billion) by 2023, says global information provider IHS Markit. Biodegradable or compostable polymers are bio-based or fossil-fuel-based… Read more »
Plastic pollution is a huge problem worldwide, and cities around the world are now implementing various initiatives to stem the tide of disposable, single-use plastics before it gets out into the environment or into the oceans. In the Netherlands, Recycled Island Foundation has been working for the last five years to create Recycled Park, a… Read more »
Marks sharp change in plastics use and role of government in the industry OCEAN litter, recycling and more environmentally sustainable uses of plastics in general got significant attention in the Ocean Plastics Charter adopted on 9 June by five of the G7 member nations. The non-binding charter, signed by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United… Read more »
Latest tax statistics for 2016/17 show government collected R232-million in levies from bag sales SOUTH African retailers have started making a concerted effort to do away with wasteful plastics which is being used in their products, with both Woolworths and Pick n Pay announcing plans to remove various practices. Woolworths has announced that it aims… Read more »
Single use plastic shouldn’t be used just once THE idyllic coastline of Kenya on the east coast of Africa is known for its beautiful beaches and azure blue shores. Situated just off the mainland of Kenya is the island of Lamu, a piece of paradise recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home… Read more »
