South Africa's plastics recycling industry continued its remarkable growth trajectory during 2025, even as the country's manufacturing sector contracted and ongoing weaknesses in the national waste management system threatened to undermine further progress.

The latest plastics consumption and recycling figures for the year ending December 2025, released by Plastics SA, show that although domestic virgin polymer consumption declined by 2.8%, plastics recycling continued its upward trajectory, with total plastics recycled increasing by 3% to 485,000 tonnes. The findings reinforce South Africa's position as one of the world's leading performers in mechanical plastics recycling, while highlighting the urgent need to strengthen waste collection and support local manufacturing.

Unlike many recycling reports that focus solely on packaging, these figures represent the entire South African plastics industry, including packaging, building and construction, agriculture, mining, automotive, consumer goods and all other plastics applications. Sector-specific analysis will be released later this year.

According to Anton Hanekom, Executive Director of Plastics SA, the figures demonstrate both the resilience of the recycling industry and the vulnerability of South Africa's broader manufacturing sector. "Recycling works. The latest figures show growth despite very difficult trading and operational conditions. Over the past ten years, domestic consumption of recyclate in South Africa has grown by an impressive 62%. That is a remarkable achievement and proof that the industry continues to invest, innovate and build a circular economy even under extremely challenging conditions."