At first glance, “biodegradable” water bottles seem to be the obvious environmentally friendly upgrade. But dig deeper and the story shifts. In SA, where infrastructure and real conditions are important, the most sustainable choice for water packaging in bottles is still the one of which already trust: recyclable pet. While new materials claim environmentally friendly login information, they often do not deliver in practice and give an otherwise effective recycling system confusion, costs and contamination. For companies that are committed to a real environmental impact, it is critical to understand the difference between what sounds green and what works.
In SA, pet plastic bottles have a well-established recycling value chain that offers real environmental advantages. In 2023, the PET Recycling Company (PETCO) reached a collective quota of 64% and a recycling rate of 60% for PET beverage bottles, which exceeds the government's goal. This robust recycling strain led to tangible winnings. By replacing Virgin Plastic through recycled pets, PETCO's initiatives saved an estimated 64 100 m³ landfill and cut around 314,500 tons of CO₂ emissions last year. Recyceltes PET (RPET) is highly in demand for new bottles, textiles and packaging and offers used bottles a real economic value.
Recyclers were able to acquire post-consumer packaging worth 30 million million by collectors in 2023, which maintained thousands of income opportunities for waste pickers and small companies.
This flourishing circular economy for pet exists because the material is 100% recyclable and is actively recovered on the scale. Every collected and recycled PET bottle means less waste to landfills or environment and more raw materials that are preserved for reuse.
The hidden dangers of “biodegradable” bottles
So -called “biodegradable” or “compostable” plastic water bottles appear as supposedly environmentally friendly alternatives. However, the facts show that these alternatives are poorly suitable for the SA context. Biologically degradable and compostable bottles cannot be reused or conventionally recycled in SA. There are no special facilities to process them, and they only decompose under certain industrial composting conditions (persistent 60 ° C heat for 10 days), which does not correspond to anything with normal compost heaps or the natural environment. These materials simply do not deteriorate as announced and will insist on landfills. Even if you collapse, the results are not as “green” as presented. Biologically degradable plastic fragment in microplasty, non -harmless soil nutrients. As you decompose, fill carbon dioxide (CO₂) that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. What is the environmental profit of a bottle that simply turns into microplastic dust and CO₂? The selection of these materials can also exacerbate the problems that you specify to solve biodicare bottles. In the case of incorrect disposal, a compostable plastic bottle, which is mixed into the recycling current of the pet, can contaminate the entire batch, which is sent to the landfill to the landfill-a single “environmentally friendly” bottle, which is thrown in the recycling container, can spoil hundreds of real recyclabs of the pet. This represents a financial loss for recyclers and collectors who achieve income from restored materials.
Disruption of recycling and legal compliance
The South African packaging industry has built up an effective infrastructure for recycling. In addition to PETCO for PET bottles, there are organizations that cover all plastic packaging types to ensure the collection and recycling according to the extended laws of the extended producer responsibility. It is mandatory that producers of packaging are registered with the Department of Forestry, Fishing and Environment (DFFE) and to join an approved producer responsibility system. PET depressions, which is the Sanbwa members Aquabella, Aquamonte, Aquellé, Bené, Bonaqua, Designer Water, La Vie de Luc, Dursti and Valpré-speaking everyone by taking responsibility for the end of their bottles and taking government goals. You also design for recycling school managers to ensure that your packaging can be recycled. This framework is an important reason why the recycling rates of pets in South Africa are so high.
In contrast, it is unclear where compostable bottle producers fit into this system. There is currently no established collective or processing network for biodegradable plastics. Do “green” pla fillers financially contribute to local waste management, as the law requires? If not, she implements the regulations to contain the pollution. Even if well -intentioned companies register, the lack of infrastructure means that their bottles are ultimately treated as ordinary garbage, which undermines the spirit of expanded producer responsibility.
There is also the question of truth in labeling. The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has introduced a national standard that sets requirements for the marking and identification of degradable plastics. This standard is intended to ensure that every “biodegradable” or “compostable” marketed product is properly tested and marked with its disposal conditions.
No products had been certified in practice in South Africa by 2023. This means that many “biodegradable” claims on packaging are not to be observed – a warning sign for potential greenwashing.
The supervisory authorities have warned of vague eco-pollution: If a bottle is not certified, consumers and retailers have no guarantee that they are doing what it promises. Such bottles should clearly indicate that they cannot be recycled and should only be composted in special facilities (if available). Not all current labels make this obvious, well-intentioned buyer to incorrectly throw these bottles into recycling or general waste flows where they do not belong.
Conclusion: a circular path forwards forward
For South African retailers, hotels and restaurants who want to make environmentally managed decisions, prefer the evidence of pet water bottles that are paired with robust recycling in connection with biodegradable plastics that are not biodegrading in reality. Sanbwa is committed to solutions that are fact -based and locally viable. For the time being, this means the use of the recyclability of PET and the successful collection network instead of switching to alternative bottles that end as disposable waste. Every PET bottle recycled in SA is part of a closed loop system that reduces garbage, creates jobs and lowers emissions. Compostable bottles under our conditions are just another disposable article that accuse plastic, but without the redemption second-life that offers recycling. Real sustainability in the packaging comes from the principles of the circular economy. We have to ask difficult questions about a new product: Can our infrastructure be dealt with with it? Is it really better to consider your full life cycle? In the case of biodegradable water bottles, the current answer is an average NR. We ask our partners in hospitality and retail to join us by adhering to recyclable pets and rejecting misleading “quick corrections”. It's about what is really green in the SA context, and that means keeping PET in the loop instead of sending “compostable” to the dump.
By Charlotte Metcalf, CEO of Sanbwa