South African Plastics Pact Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase

This case study by GreenCape describes the 'Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase', an initiative by the South African Plastics Pact to identify and promote recyclable alternatives to problematic flexible plastic packaging, specifically targeting flexible polypropylene (PP) and multilayer multi-polymer structures.

• The South African Plastics Pact has established four targets for 2025 to advance a circular economy for plastic packaging: eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic, ensuring 100% of packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, achieving a minimum 70% effective recycling rate, and incorporating at least 30% recycled content across all plastic packaging.
• Flexible polypropylene (PP) and multilayer multi-polymer packaging are identified as significant barriers to recycling in South Africa. Flexible PP suffers from low recycling rates due to a small market size and lack of economies of scale for grade separation. Multilayer films, used for their barrier properties against oxygen, moisture, and UV, contain incompatible polymers that make them unsuitable for mechanical recycling, often leading to downcycling into composite construction materials or plastic 'wood'.
• In 2023, problematic flexible packaging items accounted for approximately 35,000 tonnes of the packaging placed on the market by members of the South African Plastics Pact.
• The Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase identified mono-material polyethylene (PE) flexibles as a viable alternative because they are widely collected for recycling in South Africa. The showcase featured six finalists presenting solutions for applications such as food packaging and homeware, including recyclable PE alternatives for pouches, flow wrapping, thermoforms, shrink bags, and vacuum bags.
• Several barriers hinder the adoption of recyclable flexible packaging in South Africa, including the high cost of upgrading conversion and filling lines, a lack of local demand that prevents converters from dedicating production lines to alternative materials (leading to inefficiency and waste during material switches), and insufficient training for operators on filling lines. Additionally, local producers struggle to compete with lower-cost imported alternatives produced at higher volumes.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). South African Plastics Pact Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Insights-report-SA-Plastics-Pact-Flexible-Solution-Showcase.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. South African Plastics Pact Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Insights-report-SA-Plastics-Pact-Flexible-Solution-Showcase.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=South African Plastics Pact Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Insights-report-SA-Plastics-Pact-Flexible-Solution-Showcase.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendsouth, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{South African Plastics Pact Flexible Packaging Solutions Showcase}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Insights-report-SA-Plastics-Pact-Flexible-Solution-Showcase.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }