The World Bank Group appointed CSIR to conduct a study to map and assess existing activities around the circular economy of plastics in South Africa and to support the South African Government in developing a roadmap to advance the circularity of plastics.

Through extensive stakeholder engagement and desktop analysis, the project makes a number of recommendations for transitioning to a circular economy for plastic packaging and single-use plastic products. The recommended actions are categorised as short-term, medium-term or long-term interventions required by a broad range of role-players.

The wide range of required interventions highlights that there is no ‘silver bullet’ to address the challenge of plastic leakage and that no single role-player can bring about the required changes in isolation. Instead, system-wide interventions are needed through a concerted, collaborative effort among all role players working towards a shared vision.

The recommendations are captured in a summary report and a full report, which provides a more in-depth analysis of the various barriers and opportunities identified for advancing the circular economy based on which the recommendations were developed.