• Naspers, and its subsidiaries Takealot and Media24, have joined the South African Plastics Pact.
• The collaborative initiative was founded in 2020 and looks to get packaging producers, brand owners, NGOs, retailers, and recyclers to address plastic waste.
• The SA Plastics Pact currently has 44 members representing key organisations across the plastics value chain.

Sustainability remains top of mind for many an industry, with better choices around packaging, recycling, and materials made every day. While there is indeed a lot of work to be done in this regard, it looks like more South African companies are taking it seriously.

To that end, Naspers, and its subsidiaries Takealot and Media24, have joined the South African Plastics Pact.

This organisation serves as a collaborative industry initiative packaging producers, brand owners, retailers, recyclers, governments and NGOs to tackle plastic packaging waste. It was founded in 2020 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, and is managed by a non-profit called GreenCape.

The Plastic Pact has more than 44 members representing key organisations across the plastics value chain, including Unilever, Woolworths, Clicks, Food Lovers Market, Spar and Pick n Pay, and others.

While it remains to be seen what steps Naspers, Takealot, and Media24 will be taking, under the Plastics Pact, there are four goals in mind:

Taking action on problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models

• “Ensuring 100% of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable
• Establishing a 70% of effective recycling rate for plastic packaging
• Inclusion of an average of 30% recycled content across all plastic packaging.”

“We are delighted to join forces with Takealot, Media24 and the existing SA Plastics Pact members to reduce plastic waste across the value chain. We know that plastic and packaging waste is a global problem that requires local solutions and systems to tackle it successfully,” added Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, South Africa CEO of Naspers, in a press release sent to Hypertext.

Naspers also pointed out some of the efforts that its subsidiaries have made to date as regards recycling and sustainability.

Takealot, for example, has installed recycling stations at its two flagship pickup points and plans to roll these out to 90 new pickup points. It also recycles 98 percent of its onsite waste, along with shipping certain categories of products such as air fryers and microwaves, in their original packaging, avoiding the use of transportation boxes.

As for Media24, its Logistics team has invested in onsite conveyor systems to sort and bail plastics and cardboard boxes at its warehouses to manage all its inbound packaging, with more than 98 percent of all packaging material recycled. Added to this, On the Dot, its media logistics business, has switched to biodegradable plastic for its subscriber packaging.

“We recognise the opportunities for our platform businesses, like Takealot and Media24, to help improve the entire packaging ecosystem. These companies are developing innovative solutions and becoming a source of inspiration for market peers and business partners alike,” added Prajna Khanna, Global head of Sustainability at Naspers and Prosus.

[Image – Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash]