The 2024 Impact Report highlights that members have collectively invested over R4-billion since 2020 to redesign South Africa's plastics economy, de-risking innovation and building long-term recycling capacity.

 

 

Unprecedented Progress Towards 2025 Targets

The report aims to showcase measurable action across all four of the Pact's targets.

Target One: Eliminating Problematic and Unnecessary Plastics

Members have reduced problematic and unnecessary plastic items by 35% (55-million units) since 2020. Significant reductions were seen in straws (84%), plastic lollipop sticks (79%) and picnic cutlery (74%).

Target Two: 100% of Plastic Packaging is Designed for Recyclability

Currently, 72% of member packaging portfolios are recyclable, reusable, or compostable. Since 2020, members have increased the amount of recyclable packaging on the market by 28% (or 34 000 tonnes). PVC rigid packaging, which disrupts other recycling processes and other poorly recycled packaging have been reduced by 95% and 82% respectively.

Target Three: 70% Effective Recycling Rate

South Africa maintains a 50% input recycling rate for plastic packaging. While national rates fluctuated, the actual tonnage of plastic recycled increased by 9.1% to 471 000 tonnes in 2024.

Target Four: Minimum 30% Recycled Content

Members achieved an average of 19% recycled content across all plastic packaging. This represents a 300% increase in the use of post-consumer recycled material since 2020, substituting 30 000 tonnes of virgin plastic. In particular, recycled content in PET has increased by 200% (or 12 000 tonnes).

"By bringing together resin producers, converters, brand owners, retailers, recyclers, and civil society organisations, and national and local government, we have deepened collaboration and shared insight into the actions needed to meet our 2025 targets," says Blain van Wyk, PepsiCo Southern Africa Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager and Chairperson of the South African Plastics Pact.

"Our work has increasingly focused on practical solutions: improving packaging design for recyclability, growing demand for locally sourced recycled material, supporting reuse and refill models, and building greater transparency through improved data reporting," adds van Wyk.

The Transition to 2030 Targets and Plastic Reboot

The Pact is now transitioning to a new set of 2030 targets which were launched at the end of 2025. These updated goals include a 20% reduction in virgin plastic intensity and a shift to measuring output recycling rates to reflect material successfully reintroduced into the economy.

According to the NGO, the 2030 targets are summarised as follows:

  • Target One: 20% intensity reduction in virgin fossil-fuel based packaging by increasing. recycled content, addressing problematic items, and introducing reuse / refill systems.
  • Target Two: 100% of rigid packaging to be recyclable.
  • Target Three: 70% of flexible packaging to be recyclable.
  • Target Four: A 55% output recycling rate.

Central to this next phase is Plastic Reboot, a global five-year project active in 15 countries. In South Africa, this initiative — delivered in partnership with UNIDO, WWF, the CSIR and GreenCape — will aim to accelerate progress by focusing on upstream and midstream circular solutions within the food and beverage sector.

Saloshnee Naidoo, GreenCape Circular Economy Programme Manager, says that the SA Plastics Pact has reached a point of maturity where ambition is increasingly being translated into measurable action.

With the launch of the 2030 targets and the Plastic Reboot project, the NGO says it is sharpening its focus on systemic changes that will drive South Africa toward a truly future-fit plastics economy.

For more information, visit www.saplasticspact.org.za. You can also follow the SA Plastic Pact on LinkedIn.

*Image courtesy of contributor