How can we turn waste into value and build circular economy markets?

Interview with: 

Plastic pollution is not just a waste problem requiring more bins or better sorting. Ask Linka Geustyn, a proud partner in the South African circular-economy venture transforming recycled polypropylene waste into new products, and she will tell you that is only half the story – and arguably the easier half. 

Collection systems cannot expand if there is no demand for what they recover. Recyclers cannot invest in better sorting if there is no buyer for the output. And investors will not put capital into it either if commercial returns remain uncertain. The real bottleneck to circularity therefore is not simply improving waste management but turning that waste into value.   

This principle sits at the heart of ICC’s recommendations for the future Global Plastics Treaty. We support an ambitious but workable treaty that creates enabling policy frameworks, encourages innovation, strengthens circular design and waste management and reflects the realities of different markets. Effective implementation will require collaboration across governments, businesses and communities, and recognise the important contribution of local industries and the informal sector. A successful treaty must set direction and create the conditions that allow investment and circular business models to grow. 

We need to build a market for waste, not just a waste collection network 

Much of the efforts in plastics recycling have gone into raising collection rates. That is essential, but not sufficient. 

Recognising this, Catalynx and OMNI partnered with a recycler (Reproplast), material manufacturer (Wang on Fibers) and bag producer (Umhlaba Bags) to create the demand. Operating across South Africa, the venture has helped stitch together a local polypropylene value chain – connecting collectors, waste management partners, recyclers, manufacturers and retailers, into a single commercial system.  

The idea is straightforward: when manufacturers commit to using recycled polypropylene in their products, that commitment pulls demand back through the entire chain, creating a commercial reason for better sorting, more collection and more investment at every stage before it.  

Crucially, the model keeps this value onshore. Rather than exporting recyclable post-consumer waste (PCW) materials for processing elsewhere – sorting, processing and manufacturing take place domestically. This not only supports environmental outcomes, but also the job market and investment appeal by establishing commercial incentives that allow every participant to benefit from the value created.  

Crucially, this model also explicitly recognises the role of waste pickers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), whose collection work underpins much of the developing world’s recycling supply and whom we, at ICC, believe any credible transition must not leave behind.  

“Circularity only becomes sustainable when every participant in the value chain creates value. When demand exists for recycled materials, the entire system begins to sustain itself.”

– Linka Geustyn, Packaging Circularity Specialist – OMNI GSS & Founder, Catalynx (Pty) Ltd 

Circular value chains rarely emerge through the efforts of one organisation alone 

Developing new recycling systems requires manufacturers, recyclers, retailers, technology providers and waste collectors to work together in ways that traditional supply chains often do not. That level of collaboration also requires trust. 

For Linka Geustyn, one of the greatest challenges has been encouraging organisations to move beyond solely protecting individual commercial interests and towards building a system that benefits everyone. Greater transparency across the value chain enables partners to identify constraints, solve technical challenges together and create business models that are commercially sustainable over time. 

This reflects a wider lesson for circular economy policy. Businesses are often willing to innovate but investment becomes easier when risks are shared, value chains are connected and policies provide clear direction.  

This is being demonstrated in real-time in South Africa by the collaboration between these partners and large retail customers – including SPAR, Mr Price and PEP – who are transitioning to shopping bags made from recycled plastics (rPP spunbond material manufacture) to replace virgin, non-recyclable or imported equivalents. 

Policy certainty is an investment condition  

None of this happens without confidence that the ground rules will hold. Businesses will not commit capital to circular infrastructure if they are not confident that the investments made today will remain viable tomorrow. Clear standards, credible implementation pathways and policy certainty all lower the risk of investing in circularity and encourage innovation.  

Equally important is recognising that solutions will differ across countries. Differences in infrastructure, industrial capacity and local economic conditions must be taken into account. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach, the Global Plastics Treaty should establish harmonised principles which allow for flexibility in national implementation. Such an agreement would encourage investment, strengthen waste management systems, support innovation and enable businesses of all sizes to contribute to the transition towards a circular economy. 

Addressing plastic pollution will require improvements in product design, waste management and recycling infrastructure. But South Africa’s polypropylene value chain also demonstrates that circularity must (and can) pay for itself to last. Connect commercial incentives with environmental objectives, and a market starts to build. As negotiations on the global plastics treaty continue, practical examples such as these  demonstrate that with the right enabling conditions circularity can mean business.