Plastics SA hopes to curb plastic leakage into the environment

Following the water, waste and sustainability workshop hosted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of its Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) initiative, executive director at Plastics SA, Anton Hanekom, said collaboration is critical in curbing pollution.

For Plastics SA which is the umbrella body for the plastic industry in the country, pollution and the leakage of plastic into the environment remains a huge challenge.

In an interview with the Cape Chamber, Hanekom said the dialogue has been critical and comes at a time where collaboration is needed to find solutions.

“As the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various role players engage with government, I think it’s absolutely critical because we need to take hands, we need to find solutions,” said Hanekom.

“We need to redesign the product, we need to make sure that it’s been collected and that at the end of the day it’s being recycled,” he said.

ALSO READ: Cape Chamber launches initiative to strengthen the Western Cape economy

Furthermore, Hanekom added that while he’s attended a number of similar workshops with the public sector over the years, he believes this one stands out above the rest as “people see it from different angles, be it the Treasury (department), be it Waste, be it Water… and at the end of the day, if you bring it all together, you are likely to find a solution”.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of these type of dialogues taking place at this level, and it’s at a very practical level where people can engage directly with the specific topics,” said Hanekom.

“So well done to the Cape Chamber, it’s a good start to a process which I believe will bear fruit in the future,” he said.