The South African glass industry will take on glass collection for recycling following the decision by New Reclamation Group (Reclam) subsidiary Enviroglass to abandon the activity in order to focus o…
The South African glass industry will take on glass collection for recycling following the decision by New Reclamation Group (Reclam) subsidiary Enviroglass to abandon the activity in order to focus on its core business of recycling scrap metal. The glass industry, together with The Glass Recycling Company, a non profit organisation started by glass industry companies, has acted on the issue of glass banks that have not been emptied and contingency plans are in place, said Consol Group managing director Mike Arnold. Consol is a shareholder in The Glass Recycling Company. Enviroglass has given approval for its banks to be taken over and serviced, and has made vehicles available to the industry for rental to service the glass banks. So far, about 500 bottle banks in Gauteng and 300 in Western Cape have been identified and divided into regions for emptying and cleaning. Glass lying outside the banks is also being removed. Mr. Arnold says The Glass Recycling Company has notified Consol of critical sites that need immediate attention based on complaints to the call centre. The interruption is not expected to affect glass industry use as the shortage experienced in 2007 has been resolved. South African Breweries (SAB) says it does not expect to be affected by Reclam“s move. Communications manager Janine Van Stolk says most of its sales are through returnable bottles. SAB is also a stakeholder in the The Glass Recycling Company. About 95% of its beer is sold in glass, about 80% of which is in returnable bottles. While the build-up of glass at bottle banks could have an adverse effect on the environment, industry has been quick to address the issue and most of the backlog has already been cleared, Ms. Van Stolk says. In the long term, a plan to fill the gap left by Reclam and Enviroglass will be worked out by the glass industry and The Glass Recycling Company, said Mr. Arnold. He said that the fact that Enviroglass is longer servicing the bins will affect the environment more than it will industry, but hot spots have been identified and cleared. “Consol is more concerned about the image of recycling in the minds of the South African public – a population that still needs to fully embrace recycling as a way of life”. For every ton of cullet used Consol saves 1.2 tons of raw materials. The company“s new Clayville number four furnace came online in April 2008, and will add 90,000 tons of glass, or 12%, to production per annum. Consol is still committed to building a new glassworks in Gauteng to be commissioned in October 2009, taking its total glass production to more than 1 million tons a year, or 4 billion containers. Meanwhile, the government says it will not act against Enviroglass for withdrawing from its bottle-recycling business as the glass industry has acted to fill the void. Mava Scott, acting chief director of communication at the environmental affairs and tourism department, says there is no “requirement to act against any waste contractor”. The Glass Recycling Company shareholders include: Consol, Nampak Wiegand Glass, KWV SA, Nestle, Paarlvallei Bottelering Maatskappy, Coca-Cola Fortune, Coca-Cola SA, Peninsula Beverage Company, Scarlet Ibis Investment 3, Diageo SA, Distell, The South African Breweries, Tiger Brands Limited, Appeltiser SA, Breeriviervallei Bottelerings Kooperasie Beperk, Ceres Fruit Juices, DGB, Edward Snell and Company, and The Company of Wine People.