Newsletter on Circular Waste Management in Africa and G20 countries #42-2024

South Africa

·?????? The program for Africa’s Green Economy Summit 2025 is available. The brochure outlines the incredible sessions and impressive lineup of speakers who will?share knowledge, experience, learning and support to bring awareness, ideas and solutions to develop the green economy in Africa. More to read: https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1w4cU0Sw1Q7KVS6rG3JM-QAewv4c?utm_campaign=AGES25%20-%20All&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--4O79OtsLwmAZa3alI9s4Ca6JYud9MHLMNglZlbNfWW0cJuE-0KhQvhC9ekg8jGyTK7UIMwM4EmgnHIPc8S3i4L_lq5w&_hsmi=96889269&utm_content=96889269&utm_source=hs_email

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·?????? Call for Proposals: End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC). EPPIC, launched at the 78th UN General Assembly, is now accepting proposals for projects based in South Africa. Backed by the U.S. Department of State, this initiative focuses on material redesign and reuse/refill solutions across industries. If your project aligns with EPPIC’s mission and addresses upstream and mid-stream interventions, we encourage you to apply. Let’s work together to tackle plastic pollution! More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/circular-south-africa-csa_request-for-proposals-redesign-reuse-activity-7251469771513221121-JRZ-/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

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·?????? Moving in a good direction: a 17% year-on-year increase in the quantity of recycled plastics for South Africa in the figures released yesterday by Plastics SA in its report of polymer use and recycling in 2023. (https://lnkd.in/dMGwJM9c ). All indicators for circulating materials have improved substantively. Congratulations to the estimated nearly 100 000 people who work in plastics recycling for making this happen! Over a decade, per capita virgin polymer consumption has stayed unchanged, with quite a bit more used again. By international comparison, we put too little durable plastic into our infrastructure and buildings and still use a higher fraction than other countries for packaging. More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/harro-von-blottnitz-1309263_plastics-recycling-activity-7252926592341991425-0Qgg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

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·?????? South Africa celebrates International E-Waste Day: The theme for 2024 “Join the e-Waste Hunt – Retrieve, Recycle and Revive”, encourages the public to recycle their e-waste and declutter their homes, hunt down forgotten electronics and take out unused electronics that have gained new life to their nearest e-Waste collection points. DFFE is tackling e-waste, amongst others, enforcing legislative and regulatory measures to contribute to pollution reduction, resource conservation and effective energy consumption.?South Africa is currently in the 3rd year of EPR Regulations that cover lighting, electrical and electronic equipment waste. To date almost 68 000 tons of e-waste has been diverted from landfill and recycled through EPR schemes. The retailers are providing collection points across the country enabling the recycling of e-waste. DFFE is strengthening enforcement action against Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) producers that are not complying, including free riders. Thus far, 37 Pre-Compliance Notices have been issued to EEE producers. All producers of EEE are required to register with the Department to ensure that they are compliant. More to read: https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-international-e-waste-day-14-oct-2024

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France

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·?????? France suspends polystyrene packaging ban. The government has withdrawn the restriction, originally set to take effect on January 1, 2025, pending the European Union’s definition of ecodesign criteria. More to read: https://www.polimericanews.com/articolo.asp?id=62 and https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/D4E1FAQEa5VXq5Sncdw/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1728979330586?e=1729728000&v=beta&t=ujtmHQ0OS_rsbE1TnAa5mpb0jRdsY5uTsKHIL2P0Bz4

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·?????? For the first time in France, a reduced circular VAT on the repair of cycles, household appliances, leather goods, clothing and household linen, has just been adopted by the National Assembly's Committee. Taxation is one of the key levers for developing the French circular sector.? The malused rates on linear and polluting products would compensate for the reduction in rates on circular and virtuous products (eco-designed products, reused, repair services, etc.).? This will make it possible to identify profitable circular business models, while giving a strong signal to the consumer. At stake: factories, reindustrialization, jobs and purchasing power.? The next step: a government report to quantify and draw the technical contours of such a paradigm shift. More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/pesaintesprit_petit-pas-pour-le-budget-grand-pas-pour-activity-7253016639057620992-BRkk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

Sanitary textiles: preparations for the sector are progressing. Citeo has created a subsidiary dedicated to sanitary textiles. The draft decree put out for public consultation last summer excludes toilet paper from the sector. The draft specifications are in limbo. Preparations are continuing for the creation of the EPR sector for single-use sanitary textiles (TSUU): diapers, period protection, wipes, paper towels, tissues, cotton swabs, paper napkins, disposable cotton pads, etc. More to read: https://dechets-infos.com/textiles-sanitaires-les-preparatifs-pour-la-filiere-avancent-4931507.html

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·?????? Green Industry Law: the new rules for exiting waste status: The law of 23 October 2023 on green industry includes two main changes to the legal regime for the end of waste status: At the legislative level, it enshrines the end of waste status for substances or objects produced by a production facility and which are composed in whole or in part of waste (the procedure until now described as "implicit exit from waste status" under the terms of an opinion of 13 January 2016); It enshrines a new case of the exit from waste status for substances or objects produced within an industrial platform but whose primary purpose was not the production of the said substances or objects. More to read: https://blog.gossement-avocats.com/blog/environnement/loi-industrie-verte-focus-sur-les-dispositions-encadrant-la-sortie-du-statut-de-dechet-1

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·?????? In a judgment dated 29 June 2023, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal clarified that while Member States may prohibit the transfer of waste intended for disposal, they may not, however, establish rules that would allow the competent national authorities to formulate a systematic objection, having the effects of a general ban, to transfers of waste intended for recovery (CAA Paris, 1st ch., 29 June 2023, no. 22PA02680). More to read: https://green-law-avocat.fr/droit/green-law/reglementation-des-dechets/

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?EU & Other countries

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·?????? India and its E Waste EPR regulations. The reg allows the producers to register either offline or online and the total number of Producers having Extended Producer Responsibility Authorisation (EPRA) under E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 is 2,309 as on 31st March 2023. During FY 2022-23, CPCB issued 423 EPR Authorisation. Out of 423 EPR Authorisation 329 were issued in offline mode. 33 EPR Authorisation were issued through EPR E-Waste portal. More to read: https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=UmVwb3J0RmlsZXMvMTY2OV8xNzI3NDE0NTc1X21lZGlhcGhvdG8yOTAyNy5wZGY= ?

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·?????? EU Packaging and Packaging Waste draft regulations accused of falling short on e-commerce. While online marketplaces should have the responsibility to check the Extended Product Responsibility (EPR) compliance of their partners (like currently in Germany, France and Spain), online marketplaces should have the option to assume the EPR responsibilities (register, report, pay) on behalf of their partners, if the partners choose to do so. Here the most unbureaucratic approach can be found in France, where online marketplaces can simply step in for partners and assume the EPR obligations in case they do not choose to assume the EPR obligations themselves. More to read: https://www.eucolight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Joint-Statement-level-playing-field-for-online-marketplaces-and-effective-enforcement-20240917.pdf

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·?????? California opens comment period for final EPR packaging rules. In this new version, the California department for recycling has proposed to adjust some definitions, including for component, food serviceware, producer, reuse and refill, item and curbside collection. In the section on ‘reuse and refill’ the definition section specifies that to be considered reused or refilled by a producer, items must be recovered from users and returned into the supply chain, and be used or filled either four times or, for plastic items, the number times necessary “so that 75% less plastic waste is generated overall.”?And for items that are meant to be reused or refilled by someone other than the producer, the item’s “design and marketing must incorporate directions reasonably necessary for such person to understand how to perform such actions completely,” the rules note.?In addition, the items either have to be accepted back at the same location they were purchased from or within one mile of that location with the same hours of operation.?“If the item was delivered directly to a consumer, return of the item must be facilitated through the same means (such as the same website) that the consumer used to acquire it and must not require the consumer to travel to a location other than the delivery location,” the rules state.? Further, returning the item “must not impose limitations or requirements on consumers, such as the use of technologies, access restrictions, or contribution of materials other than the item.”?Several formulas were added to the final rules, including for the evaluation of covered material recyclability rate and recycling rate, and the method of granting source reduction credits. More to read: https://resource--recycling-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/resource-recycling.com/plastics/2024/10/16/california-opens-comment-period-for-final-epr-rules/amp/

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·?????? G20 Brasil working Groups from Environment and Climate Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Energy Transitions met. The Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group hold technical and ministerial meetings to discuss preventive and emergency adaptation to extreme weather events, payments for ecosystem services, oceans, waste, and circular economy. More to read: https://www.g20.org/en/news/g20-brasil-october-begins-with-crucial-meetings-for-the-forums-debates ?

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·?????? In India, all efforts are being made at the plastic recycling value chain side but not enough is done for the collection and segregation. With significant improvements and innovations, we can improve the economics as well as scalability of the overall recycling industry. Without looking at collection and segregation, it will be difficult. More to read: https://www.wasterecyclingmag.com/news/plastic-recycling/plastics-recycling-industry-riding-the-circular-wave

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·?????? In UK, Plastics resource efficiency and recycling charity calls for urgent reforms to address enforcement issues and ensure the tax effectively incentivises the use of recycled content. According to RECOUP, many packaging producers are claiming to meet the requirements without proper oversight. In some cases, packaging labelled as containing recycled contents includes materials that are technically impossible to recycle or uses the term 'pre-consumer' material that may not include any recycled content at all. As a result, UK recyclers are being undermined by false claims about recycled content. This not only distorts the market but also deprives HMRC of potential revenue from packaging that should be taxed. More to read: https://resource.co/article/false-recycled-content-claims-undermining-uk-plastic-recycling-system

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·?????? According to this statement below, it appears that there is a significant shift in the Basel Convention’s approach to hazardous waste trade as there are potential inequities created by the Amendment. By segregating trade based on outdated definitions of "industrialized" nations, it raises concerns about how this could disadvantage buyers, particularly in non-industrialized countries, while failing to address the underlying issues of safety and fairness in recycling practices. More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/robiningenthron_when-basel-convention-was-first-adapted-activity-7252884090717138945-vhCJ/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

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·?????? Official development finance in solid waste management reveals insufficient resources for tackling plastic pollution: A global analysis of two decades of data. Providing effective solid waste and resources management (SWM) is essential to tackle plastics pollution, reduce carbon emissions and local air pollution from open burning, avoid disease spreading and enable circularity. Official development finance (ODF) is vital in providing relevant infrastructure and capacity development. We developed a novel standardised methodology to analyse OECD ODF data and applied it to 2003–2021, offering insights on the scale, flows and changes in SWM ODF. Despite an 8-fold increase, SWM-focused ODF is still very low, representing just 0.41 % of all ODF; and an order of magnitude less than water and sanitation ODF. Low-income countries received only 8 % of SWM ODF. Total commitments in 2021 were ca. 1.8 Billion USD - significantly short of the >30 Billion USD investment estimated as necessary for substantially reducing plastics pollution. The multi-lateral environmental agreement under negotiation (‘Plastics Treaty) needs to set ambitious targets for ODF and wider international co-operation. More to read: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344924005111

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·?????? What can & can’t be done by the COP for the future Plastic Treaty? The sequencing of obligations, control measures and decisions should consider what legally can be done by the Governing body of the future Plastic Treaty. ?Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty. More to read: https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/D4E1FAQHfdj3F8rtRdQ/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1728919784166?e=1730332800&v=beta&t=5ks6ZiYouGH6ipc5Eh5M33zrA-QBNw182dDVLUS0NMA

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·?????? US EPA to consider to phase out vinyl chloride. More to read: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/october-2024?clear_id=true&link_id=1&can_id=092d0a371e9d96788474d0b47879b248&source=email-can-you-submit-a-comment-on-vinyl-chloride-to-the-epa-asap-2&email_referrer=email_2443080&email_subject=firstname-title_case-default-friend-urge-epa-to-ban-toxic-vinyl-chloride-before-1023-deadline-for-public-comments

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·?????? Sorting System Identifies Plastics With Spectroscopy: Identification and tracking system was developed to accurately identify plastic fragments in recycling streams. More to read: https://www.ptonline.com/products/canon-tr-series-sorting-systems-identify-plastics-with-spectroscopy

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·?????? Norway’s waste policy falls short of its goals because of inaccurate measurement methods, unreliable data and a lack of transparency about where Norwegian waste ends up, researchers say. NTNU researchers have now taken a critical look at Norway’s waste policy over the past few decades. Their analysis shows that 65 per cent of all collected and processed waste is incinerated, which is an increase from 49 per cent in 2009. The research shows that there are major gaps in the information being collected by the Norwegian Environment Agency and Statistics Norway. In some years, Norwegians have actually recycled 40 per cent less than what the authorities have reported. Mattson and his colleagues have recommended what is needed to move Norway towards the goals set by the EU. They proposed as many as 18 more precise methods of measurement so that the authorities can manage waste streams more efficiently. More to read: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344924004312?via%3Dihub and https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2024/10/failed-waste-policy-we-burn-more-and-recycle-less-than-we-think/

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