BU S I N E S S DAY.CO. Z A
Business Day Insights NATIONAL CLEAN-UP & RECYCLE SA WEEK 2025
Friday 19 September 2025
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Pick it up and make a difference Circularity National clean-up event fosters a culture of accountability, writes Lynette Dicey The annual Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week takes place this week. Highlights include National River Clean-Up Day which took place on Wednesday September 17, National Recycling Day South Africa, which takes place today and International Coastal Clean-Up Day/World Clean-Up Day which takes place tomorrow. The event is once again being organised by Plastics SA, the umbrella body representing the plastics industry, and is supported by the packaging industry. Douw Steyn, sustainability director at Plastics SA, says this inspiring initiative encourages all citizens to take pride in their environment by actively participating in clean-up and recycling activities, making a difference where they work, live and play. “September has become synonymous with ‘spring cleaning’ the environment, and this year promises to be no exception,” says Steyn, revealing that throughout the month, various clean-ups will take place across the country, uniting communities, schools, businesses and individuals in the shared goal of protecting the environment. He says the week highlights the importance of responsible plastic and packaging use — ensuring that plastic and packaging products are reused and recycled after use and don’t pollute the country’s rivers, beaches or landscapes. “The responsible behaviour of citizens has
Douw Steyn (yellow cap) and volunteers with forestry, fisheries & the environment deputy minister Narend Singh at Cutting Beach, KwaZulu-Natal.
become ever more critical, particularly when you consider that about 39% of our population does not have access to any form of waste management services or infrastructure to deal with their waste. Instead, they need to rely on their own means to deal with their waste, which often leads to illegal dumping or open burning,” says Hanekom, adding that these materials could be recycled if they were collected and sorted.
We are preserving our natural resources and ensuring a healthier planet
He says SA must look at implementing separation at source where households separate their waste into two bags, wet waste (organic) and dry waste (all other waste) for collection, sorting and recycling. “Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week is more than just picking up litter; it’s about fostering a culture of accountability and respect for our environment,” says Steyn. “Plastics and packaging are valuable materials that should be recycled and kept in the circular economy. By working together to clean and recycle, we are preserving our natural resources and ensuring a healthier planet for generations to come.” Plastics SA and its partners have once again sponsored thousands of bright yellow branded bags for volunteers to use when collecting and sorting the litter gathered during the clean-ups. In addition to Plastics SA, various material streams, including paper, glass and metals, are also involved in Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week. Steyn says this showcases how collaboration between industries and citizens is key to tackling pollution. Urging all citizens to join in clean-up efforts — whether it’s at a local beach, riverbank, park or neighbourhood — he says each bag of litter collected and each bottle or bag recycled is a step towards a cleaner and more sustainable SA. For more information on the initiative go to www.cleanupandrecycle.co.za
and Recycle South Africa
Spring time is clean-up time. This is the ideal time to turn our attention and efforts to cleaning up our environment. Every piece of litter that is carelessly discarded, makes its way via waterways, rivers and streams, to our oceans! As the weather warms up, head outdoors and make a difference wherever you are! At work, school or play, your smallest actions make the difference and create awareness!
SEPTEMBER 2025 15 – 20 d Clean-up an A S Recycle Week
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17
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National River Clean-up Day
National Recycling Day
International Coastal Clean-up Day
Let’s D o it World Clean-u p Day
The plastics industry and partners taking action www.cleanupandrecycle.co.za supported by global networks.
gap widening, says report
The latest Circularity Gap Report, a collaboration between global impact organisation Circle Economy and Deloitte, reveals that despite increased discussions and awareness about the circular economy, our world is becoming less circular, not more. The report, first launched in 2018, analyses the circularity metric to offer insight into the global state of the circular economy transition. The latest edition, published in 2025, analyses the circularity gap for the first time, examining how the materials flowing into and out of the global economy are contributing to a circular economy — or not. It breaks global material flows down into three interconnected categories: circular, including secondary materials and carbon-neutral biomass; linear, which includes non-carbon-neutral biomass, fossil fuels combusted for energy and other virgin, nonrenewable materials designed for landfill; and potentially circular or linear materials such as buildings, infrastructure and machinery that can either be recycled or wasted at end-of-life. One of the report’s most significant findings is that the global circularity rate — the share of secondary materials consumed by the global economy — has fallen from 9.1% in 2018 to 6.9% in the 2025 report. This means that out of all the materials we use, less than 7% are recycled or reused. The rest are virgin materials and their consumption continues to rise. In just the past five to six years, humanity has consumed more than 500-billion tons of materials, a staggering amount nearly equal to all the materials consumed during the entire 20th century. While the use of recycled materials has increased, overall material consumption rose much faster, offsetting these improvements. The report finds that global material consumption is outpacing population growth and generating more waste than recycling systems can handle, highlighting the need for global circular economy targets, system-level transformation and multilateral collaboration. If all recycled materials were recycled — even without reducing consumption — the report predicts global circularity could rise from 6.9% to 25%. Conceding this is unlikely to happen as some materials are too difficult or costly to recycle, it calls for measures to reduce overall material consumption alongside boosting recycling efforts.
Recycling systems must be improved and waste generation needs to be minimised The report categorises countries into three groups: shift (high-income countries), grow (middle-income countries) and build (low-income countries), pointing out that the impacts of the linear economy are disproportionately felt. Wealthier shift countries are the biggest consumers of resources and the largest contributors to emissions, while grow and build countries, which need to increase material consumption for development, are left to deal with the environmental consequences. The current recycling system, says the report, is not only inadequate in addressing the global waste crisis but is also inefficient. Offering a clear roadmap for change, the report says that to accelerate progress, governments, businesses and individuals must work together to “change the rules of the game”. This includes incentivising circularity with governments introducing policies that make circular practices more attractive such as strengthening extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes and implementing “Right to Repair” legislation to extend the lifespan of products. Recycling systems must be improved and waste generation needs to be minimised through circular design principles, investments in infrastructure and technologies to improve waste collection and exploring high-value applications for waste. It suggests fiscal policies should be adjusted to penalise linear, resource-intensive activities and says this can be achieved through taxes on virgin materials and subsidies for recycled content. In addition, it advocates for policy to shift subsidies away from polluting industries and towards regenerative practices, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. The financial sector, says the report, must be encouraged to invest in circular solutions. This will involve rethinking traditional accounting standards and creating financial mechanisms that support businesses adopting circular models.