The big winners: the team responsible for the new Shoprite brand bleach’s 100% recycled plastic bottle: from left, Chandru Wadhwani of Extrupet, Andrie Ferreira of Shoprite and Friedel Sass of Bowler Packaging (Wendy Knowler/ News24)
- A humble but extremely environmentally friendly and child-safe bleach bottle won Shoprite and its recycling and packaging partners the top accolade at the SA Plastics Recycling Organisation’s Best Recycled Products awards.
- Shoprite was hailed as being extremely brave by switching from using 100% virgin plastic for the bottle to 100% recycled plastic, trading the super bright white cosmetic appeal for diverting massive amounts of plastic from landfill and the environment.
- Other gold award winners were a bee-friendly hive made from hard-to-recycle juice and milk cartons, toothpaste tubes and yoghurt tubs, a stylish suitcase made from recycled cellphone and battery cases, a shopping bag carrier made from recycled bottle caps and recycled plastic decking.
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Would consumers be put off if bleach was packed in an off-white bottle as opposed to a shiny bright white one, which is traditionally associated with cleanliness and efficacy?
It’s such considerations – assumptions, perhaps? – which have historically compelled bleach manufacturers to pour the cheapest of surface cleaners into the purest white plastic bottles, and for that you need to use 100% virgin plastic.
When you add recycled plastic to the mix, you get “offputting” tiny white dots in the finished bottle.
Alpla Packaging SA and Reckitt won a silver award at the SA Plastics Recycling Organisation’s (Sapro) annual awards for the best recycled products for creating a new Jik bottle, which remains a perfectly bright white, despite its 30% recycled content.
How? By sandwiching a layer of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) – one of the most versatile forms of plastic – between two layers of virgin HDPE.
And given the volume of Jik sold in South Africa, that will reduce manufacturer Reckitt’s use of virgin HDPE by 267 tonnes a year, with no loss of functionality.
But the gold award winner in that category – and overall winner – went to plastic manufacturer Extrupet, Bowler Packaging and the Shoprite Group for doing something even more extraordinary – and a lot more brave – with the Shoprite-brand bleach range.
They made the switch from a 100% virgin HDPE bottle to 100% post-consumer recycled HDPE, replacing 222 tonnes of virgin HDPE with recycled HDPE.
In other words, every year, 6.16 million used milk bottles, shampoo bottles and the like, which would have been wasted in landfills or ended up polluting the sea, will instead be turned into these bleach bottles.
And yes, they are ever so slightly off-white, but not in any way aesthetically unappealing.
That’s not all – to prevent children from accidentally drinking the contents, the new bottle also includes a child safety cap, the word bleach in braille.
Spot the difference: Shoprite Group’s bleach bottle, made from 100% recycled plastic, and the Jik bottle, made from 30% recycled plastic. (Wendy Knowler/ News24)
Battery cases and cellphone cases are made from a very tough but light form of plastic – perfect for recycling into suitcases. (Wendy Knowler/ News24)
Plastic’s fantastic, according to the bees. (Wendy Knowler/ News24)
Another big winners at Thursday’s gala awards event at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront were:
A beehive made entirely from hard-to-recycle ‘multi-laminated’ packaging materials such as juice and milk cartons, toothpaste tubes and yoghurt tubs, by Infinite Industries.
They’ve been tested for more than a year in South Africa, and, happily, they’ve been totally accepted by the bees.
Here’s why: the plastic keeps the temperature of the hive constant, as opposed to traditional wooden hives which don’t, thus requiring the bees to divert honey-making energy to keeping warm or cooling down.
Plus the plastic hives are waterproof, require no maintenance and are extremely sturdy, allowing them to be moved around without getting damaged; they don’t catch alight, and they’re termite and badger resistant.
A suitcase on wheels range made from 80% recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) – a form of plastic known for its strength, impact resistance and lightweight properties: all characteristics required for a suitcase to withstand airports’ baggage handling environments.
Blue Print’s Blue Juice range is made from mainly recycled battery and cellphone cases.
Nowatech decking planks, with a concealed ‘Nowaclip’ installation method for quick installation with no visible screws. They are made from 100% recycled mixed plastic.
A plastic gizmo allowing shoppers to comfortably hold several plastic carrier bags, designed by University of Johannesburg art, design and architecture student Lethabo Maganyele and made from recycled bottle caps.
“What was not too long ago unthinkable [in terms of what recycled plastic can be used for] is now the norm,” said awards convenor and SAPRO general manager Oliver Bonstein.
The Shoprite group got a special judges’ commendation for their children’s plastic ride-on bikes, both produced by Hope Sonic.
The teal Sixty60 is made from 70% recycled plastic and the black Shoprite one from 100% recycled plastic.
*Wendy Knowler served on the judges’ panel for these awards.
