The staff at Anti-Waste in Polokwane
Polyco, the Polyolefin Recycling Company (NPC), has announced the names of the 12 collectors of post-consumer polyolefin waste who will be receiving a total of R4.6million in grants and interest-free loans.
As part of Polyco’s mandate to promote and grow the collection and recycling of post-consumer PP, HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE packaging materials, (as is required in terms of the Packaging Industry obligations to the South African Government under extended producer responsibility), the company issued a call for proposals in April 2015 to collectors who were interested in partnering with them.
“We received a total of 38 applicants from all over South Africa, of which 16 were shortlisted and finally 12 successful applicants were approved by the Polyco board,” says Mandy Naudé, CEO of Polyco. The result is that Polyco will invest R3.7 million as interest-free loans and R850 000 as grants into 12 post-consumer polyolefin collection companies.
The successful applicants are:
- A2 Recycling in Kagiso
- Anti-Waste in Polokwane
- Aspigon 218cc in Lenasia
- Innovative Mouldings in Port Elizabeth
- Mary Recycling Works in Meadowlands
- Mavesa Scrap Metals in Germiston
- Neo Recycling in Thabazimbi
- Nondaba Recycling in Secunda
- Polymer Waste Management Centre in Longdale, Gauteng
- Pick Up Waste Recycling in Potchefstroom
- Remade in Germiston
- Trashback Pty Ltd in Sandton
“Providing funding-support to these companies and helping them to optimise their supply chains, allows us to unlock approximately 27 500 tonnes of new polyolefin plastics for recycling over the next three years – putting us ahead of our five year plan,” Mandy says.
The collection and sorting sector faces numerous constraints which prevent them from growing their volumes or collecting more materials. The majority of the collectors who had applied to Polyco for funding in this cycle, required new machinery and equipment that would allow them to make maximum use of their available space and move materials more effectively through the process, whilst minimising their logistic costs.
“Almost all of the collectors needed bailers at their premises in order to compact the bulky polyolefin materials which were brought in, such as milk bottles, yoghurt tubs, margarine containers and ice cream tubs. Granulators to shred the materials into smaller pieces were also high on the collectors’ wish lists, as both these machines allow them to save on warehousing and logistical costs. By helping them find solutions to the bottle necks in their operations, they will now be able to buy and process more materials from the informal collectors and have a direct, positive impact on the amount of plastic waste that is sent to landfill,” she explains.
Polyco’s third call for proposals in 2015 went out on the 17 August and is focused specifically on supply chain efficiency projects for mechanical recyclers. The final submission date for these proposals was the 28th September 2015.
“We look forward to going through the applications from mechanical recyclers and announcing the names of the successful applicants later this year. These applicants also enjoy the benefit of becoming part of the Polyco network whereby they are referred business opportunities, connected to valuable networks, provided with media exposure and offered general business support and advice if required. We have set ourselves the goal of growing polyolefin recycling in South Africa by a further 300 000 tonnes over the next five years. We believe it is achievable through forming partnerships with recyclers and collectors who share our vision and passion for the industry,” Mandy concludes.