2022 Sasol Sustainability Report - Book - Page 28
SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE AGAINST OUR FOCUS AREAS
INTRODUCTION
DATA AND ASSURANCE
SAFE AND ENDURING OPERATIONS (CONTINUED)
Sustainable use of plastics
Plastic waste in the environment and oceans is unacceptable. We are addressing
this challenge by embracing the principles of the circular economy and the
waste hierarchy.
OUR APPROACH
• We acknowledge that plastic waste in the environment is a concern and is unacceptable.
• In response, we are executing on our Plastics Sustainability approach with four key focus areas:
Impact Projects, Innovation, Education and Collaboration.
• We want to have a meaningful impact in South Africa on plastic waste leakage into the
environment through value chain collaboration on projects and initiatives that promote
and develop circularity.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
In South Africa, given Sasol’s prominence, we work
with government, relevant industry participants and
associations to maximise the impact of our contribution.
Guided by the focus areas of our Plastics Sustainability
Strategy, here we provide an update on some of the
plastic sustainability initiatives currently underway.
Impact
Projects
Innovation
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Collaboration
Education
Packa-Ching
Inkwazi Isu
Chemical recycling in South Africa
At Sasol, we want to ensure a meaningful and visible
impact towards plastics sustainability in South
Africa. One of the ways we are doing this is through
the Packa-Ching initiative where Sasol supports
entrepreneurs with the collection of used recyclable
packaging material from the public in low income
and informal areas, using mobile recycling units.
Since the first Packa-Ching unit, we’ve collected
more than 6 300 tons of recyclable waste and our
communities have earned more than R5 million.
The Inkwazi Isu Project in Durban, KZN has been
approved for grant funding from both Sasol (two sites)
and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) (ten sites)
for the upgrade of 12 municipal refuse garden sites into
recycling buyback centres. The project aims to divert
approximately 30 kilotons per annum (ktpa) of plastic
waste from landfill while creating 120 direct jobs.
The Inkwazi Isu project forms part of AEPW’s flagship
programme for Sub-Saharan Africa that will aid in
upgrading the collection and sorting infrastructure in
this coastal region. The project’s primary objectives are:
To provide an advanced solution to reducing plastic
waste, we are evaluating the viability of a chemical
recycling facility in South Africa. This facility would
complement both Sasol’s current efforts to encourage
mechanical recycling, and the South African
Government’s Localisation Policy, which is integral to
the country’s economic recovery plan.
We partner with Polyco on this initiative.
The objectives and goals of Packa-Ching are aligned
with one of Sasol’s focus areas and that is to reduce
and mitigate the environmental impact of plastic
and to implement solutions to reduce plastic and
other consumer waste from our environment.
• To bridge the infrastructure and logistics gap by
providing efficient sorting and buyback facilities
within community’s reach.
• To actively reduce the amount of waste that ends up
in landfills by sorting and reclaiming up to 90% of
recyclable waste.
• To provide a hub for responsible waste management.
SASOL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022
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Chemical recycling is a term used to describe
technologies that allow the recycling of those plastics
that are difficult to recycle mechanically. By turning
plastic waste back into base chemicals and chemical
feedstocks, chemical recycling processes have the
potential to dramatically improve recycling rates and
divert plastic waste from landfill or incineration.
A facility like this will create value through the
valorisation of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and aligns
with our objective of providing circular and sustainable
solutions for our customers.