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Researching a Deposit Return System for South Africa

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presentation
posted on 2024-11-04, 08:17 authored by Andy Grant, Laurence Elliott, Nicola Ainger, Catherina Schenck, Charlotte Nell, Tom Flatman, Lizette Grobler, Nicky Van Hille, Rob Van Hille, Derick Blaauw, Bonte Edwards, Vedashree Chandewar, Magdalena Kaminska, Olivia Loots

Deposit return systems (DRSs) have proven successful in achieving high collection rates of single-use beverage containers when implemented in various countries around the world. In a DRS, consumers pay a small fully refundable deposit when they purchase a packaged beverage. The deposit is then refunded when the used beverage container is returned to a return location. The used beverage container is then recycled.

By applying a deposit to single-use beverage containers, a DRS creates a financial incentive for consumers to return used containers for recycling. The deposit also assigns a value to discarded beverage containers, which motivates consumers and potentially waste reclaimers to recover used containers in order to claim the deposit value. The increase in collection rate achieved in a DRS has associated benefits in reducing litter and the loss of materials to terrestrial and marine environments, in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and in improving local air quality, creating jobs, and increasing the circularity of the materials in scope.

This report explores the costs, benefits, and risks of implementing a mandatory DRS for single-use beverage containers in South Africa. A workshop run by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2022 found consensus among stakeholders (including representatives from retailers, brand owners, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academia, and waste reclaimers) regarding the potential benefits of a mandatory DRS in South Africa. The report details the findings of a research project, funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, designed to answer the key research questions arising from the workshop. In addition to detailing the main findings from the study, it also draws upon information and analysis contained in several supplementary reports, which are available from the same locations as this report.

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