Programme Director,
CEO of Extrupet,
CEO of PETCO,
Waste industry members,
Members of the media,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour to join you today for the official opening of Extrupet’s new food-grade PET plastic recycling plant in Cape Town.
This facility is more than bricks and machinery, it is a symbol of how South Africa can turn a crisis into an opportunity. It shows that with clear policy, vision and partnership, plastic waste can be transformed from a burden on our environment into a driver of jobs, innovation and inclusive growth.
Allow me to commend Extrupet, Propet and PETCO for your investment and commitment. This is the leadership we expect from industry, a step that shows South Africa’s waste sector can be a cornerstone of the circular economy.
Government’s role is to create the enabling environment. The National Development Plan, the National Waste Management Strategy and our Extended Producer Responsibility regulations set the framework. Industry makes it real through investment and delivery. When business and government pull in the same direction, we achieve growth and sustainability together.
PET plastics are among the most visible materials in our waste stream, and they are among the most valuable when properly collected. Waste pickers know this value. For many, PET is not waste, it is income and dignity.
If we collect PET properly, it supports livelihoods and builds enterprises. If we do not, it ends up in landfills, rivers and oceans. That is the choice before us, and this facility tilts the balance towards opportunity.
Supply must meet demand. Waste pickers and SMMEs are central to that supply. They are not on the margins of this story, they are at its heart. Our work with municipalities to integrate waste pickers into formal systems will strengthen this value chain.
Our EPR regulations require producers to meet clear targets for collection and recycling, including for different grades of PET. PETCO plays a critical role as the Producer Responsibility Organisation that supports compliance and builds the system. Because of this collaboration, more than 70 percent of PET beverage bottles placed on the market by PETCO members are collected and recycled.
This is how regulations become reality. Facilities like this expand capacity. Waste pickers collect and sort the material. Companies invest in infrastructure, skills and awareness. This plant adds 15 000 tonnes of recycled PET per year, taking Extrupet’s total output from 30 000 to 45 000 tonnes. With phase two planned, national capacity will reach 60 000 tonnes next year.
This investment also supports competitiveness. New European Union rules require plastic beverage bottles to contain at least 25 percent certified recycled PET. With local food-grade rPET available at scale, Western Cape producers are better placed to meet these standards and to protect export markets.
Ladies and gentlemen, Plastic pollution is not only an environmental crisis. It is also a public health emergency that harms communities and threatens ecosystems.
South Africa is at the forefront of the global process to end plastic pollution. Through the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, we are advocating for a legally binding instrument that covers the full life cycle of plastics, from design and production, through consumption, reuse and disposal.
Even as negotiations continue, and even where talks have stalled, we are acting at home. From our regulations on microbeads and on single-use items, to investments that expand recycling capacity, we are proving that South Africa will not wait to be told what to do. We will lead by example.
This plant shows what is possible when policy meets partnership, when waste becomes wealth, and when vision is matched by action.
It is a beacon of what we can achieve together. Cleaner rivers, healthier communities, stronger industries and more jobs.
On behalf of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, I congratulate Extrupet, Propet and PETCO on this achievement. May this facility stand as proof that South Africa is serious about ending plastic pollution and building a circular economy that works for all.
I thank you.
For media interview enquiries please contact:
Thobile Zulu-Molobi:
Mobile: +27 82 513 7154
E-mail: tmolobi@dffe.gov.za
or
Chelsey Wilken
Mobile: +27 74 470 5996
E-mail: cwilken@dffe.gov.za
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