NO TIME TO WASTE TO GET A CIRCULAR ECONOMY GOING

BY CHRIS WHYTE

COMPANIES, governments and organisations around the globe are latching on to the concept of the “circular economy” as the future solution to all the woes of the world.

As a term, the circular economy has been entrenched for the past decade or so, but it was first coined in 1990.

In a nutshell, it is about changing humankind’s take-makedispose destructive consumerist past to a more restorative and regenerative future. This would see technical and biological materials kept in circulation as long as possible to reduce our need for new raw materials.

Essentially, it is based on the premise that in nature there is no waste and the world has an incredible ability to heal itself. Then came man…

A lot of the hype around the circular economy is about waste. The principles of circular economy are about changing this trajectory through embracing the 7 Rs: rethink, reduce, re-use, repair, refurbish, recover, recycle.

Unfortunately, this often gives the impression that circular economy is just another buzz phrase for recycling. This could not be further from the truth. Circular economy is a multisectoral approach that is more about the impacts and outcomes of changing the way we deal with waste.

This means we do not talk of recycling as the focus; we talk of the positive impacts and outcomes in the sectors of energy, water, wastewater, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, health, education, nutrition, tourism and the benefits to environmental remediation and social upliftment.

So, circular economy is really an all-encompassing, holistic approach to changing our destructive path to a more sustainable one.

To unpack all this in a short article is impossible, so let us focus on one waste that is top of many people’s minds – plastic.

Plastic litter is everywhere. It is in our towns, our rivers, our beaches and has even been found in the deepest parts of our oceans. Plastic is public enemy number one, and the reality is because this is the most visible waste we see and social media has entrenched this.

Personally, I am more aware of the other waste we do not see as clearly. These are the wastes that end up in our water and these are the ones which are killing us – agricultural nutrients, herbicides and pesticides; industrial waste and chemicals; sewage; mine water contamination, and the big one that most people do not know about, “forever chemicals” or PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Look it up – that is the really scary one.

But back to plastics. First, we need to put it into context and understand that plastics present a good news/bad news scenario.

Globally, we are producing around 400 million metric tons of plastic a year – a billion kilograms a day. In South Africa, plastics production is just short of 2 million tons, less than 0.5% of global production – so if you think we have a problem, we can see the global issue.

Our economic manufacturing prowess has managed to double global production of plastic in less than two decades.

Plastics have so many benefits that they have undeniably changed our lives for the better in so many ways, from reducing food losses, to the phone or computer you are reading this on, to improvements in the medical sector and even space travel.

But then there is the bad news – the world’s corporations and governments would have us go on doubling and redoubling plastics production, where current projections show a four-fold increase in production by 2050. Globally, the recycling rate for plastic packaging is a paltry 14%, so it’s little wonder we have a problem.

Hopefully not. About 60 000 waste pickers in South Africa earn an income collecting about 90% of the plastic waste in the country, comprising a recycling rate of 45% of our local plastics production and this feeds into about 300 formal recycling companies, or processors, in the country.

The contribution to the economy is significant but not enough. We need a change in narrative as, realistically, “recycling” has been a global failure.

Circular economy principles change this narrative, and they are gaining traction globally and locally. Reduce and redesign are elements being challenged all over the world, and now locally, with the advent of policies and regulations that place the responsibility back with the plastic producers through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

EPR regulations were promulgated in this country on May 5 giving clear directives to empower the informal sector and generate value in waste; drive the economic opportunities to increase the infrastructure for processing plastic waste and drive the demand; focus on problematic plastic streams and address designing for recyclability, as well as implement innovative applications in plastic waste processing.

There are huge opportunities for sustainable economic development, economic transformation and skills development in plastic waste processing and not just in conventional recycling. These include mechanical recycling and chemical recycling; innovations in energy and both up-cycling and down-cycling applications.

The future is bright – we simply need to embrace this change and the opportunities this presents.

CHRIS WHYTE is a director in five commercial companies and three NPOs involved in sustainable applications in waste. He is a director and SA Chapter leader for the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) and co-founder of the ACEN Foundation, based in Brussels. Whyte has been driving circular economy applications for 21 years, specialising in transitioning corporations and countries to a circular economy where waste is a resource.

He has received over a dozen national awards, and several global awards, in recognition of his contribution to the sector.

He is currently focused on pan-African CE development and EU-Africa collaboration.