Cape Town - Local packaging manufacturer Tuffy yesterday provided a tour of its refuse bag plant, which uses 100% recycled material, and hopes it can be an example to other manufacturers still using virgin materials to produce plastic.
Tuffy, a manufacturer situated in Bellville, has been collecting recycled waste from waste pickers for more than 30 years and converting it into plastic chips to make new refuse bags.
Tuffy factory manager Mark Strydom said: “We take more than 300 tons of waste off the landfills per month through this process. Many manufacturers are still using virgin materials to extrude plastic, instead of reusing recycled material.”
He said the shift towards a circular process often comes down to money, as it can be expensive to get suitable machinery to use recycled materials to produce more products.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde went on a tour of the plant to see the work being done that also marks the anniversary of GreenCape’s operations, which he launched to promote a more sustainable economy.
Winde said: “The circular economy is so important … to see how we play our part in becoming energy sustainable and dealing with our recyclable refuse.”
He said businesses need to make an investment in the long term and the short term.
There are also businesses that create a model to ensure all stakeholders can play a role in shifting towards a greener economy.
“The company’s achievements include being the first local organisation to be accredited for having fully recycled content in its refuse bags. The refuse bags are made from 100% recycled material with a minimum 75% level of post-consumer waste; they’re turning our trash into trash bags.”
World Wide Fund for Nature’s head of business Justin Smith said: “Companies that ensure materials do not end up in landfills and make them into new products prove that there is a business model to be more circular in the way they approach the industry … South Africa has a lot to learn about the circular economy. There are a lot of good changes, but there are opportunities to be better.”
Cape Argus