PESTLE Analysis

Q 1.1 Political and Legal Analysis

The South African Government is an active participant in the global fight against marine
pollution and in November 2017 joined the UN Environments’ Cleanseas campaign against
marine litter and ocean pollution. South Africa has pledged to step up its beach cleanup
campaign and to prioritise legislation to hold producers of plastic packaging responsible for
the pollution that their products cause. In addition this campaign also calls on consumers to
change their throwaway habits which require governments to educate their citizens in this
regard. Some signatories to this campaign have taken bold steps, e.g. Sri Lanka has
implemented a ban on single use plastics and Chile has implemented laws that hold the
producers of plastic bags responsible for the damage their products may cause.

South Africa has not gone as far as the other signatories although they have committed to
such laws. In South Africa there are many pieces of legislation aimed at curbing pollution,
some of which contradict one another and a lot of consolidation of these laws is required.
Examples of laws governing pollution in South Africa can be found in the Constitution, which
gives everyone the right to live in a safe and harmless environment for their own benefit as
well as for the benefit of future generations, and the National Environmental Waste
Management: Waste Act which gives effect to the Constitution by setting out laws that are
designed to prevent pollution and promote conservation. The Waste Act allows the Minister
to declare any waste a priority waste and to decide what to do with it, which includes
banning the material, introducing a minimum recycling level or requiring a deposit on the
packaging.

In May 2018 the Minister of Environmental Affairs announced that following the Clenseas
campaign the government will be implementing the Source to Sea Initiative which is a
“strategy to investigate, combat pollution, in particular plastic pollution which threatens both
freshwater and marine ecosystems” 2 .

The influence of the above will have a positive influence on our brand if we assist the
government by educating our target market on recycling our packaging,, and by complying
with the relevant legislation and by acting as a responsible corporate citizen, showing
concern for our environment, we will be looked on in a favourable light by our target market
which will have a positive influence on our brand

Q 1 2 Economic Analysis

One of the best methods to overcome plastic pollution is to recycle existing plastic into new
packaging products as this not only makes use of existing products that are currently
polluting the environment but also reduces the usage of other raw materials that will be
transformed into plastic through a manufacturing process.

The National Plastics Recycling Survey 20173 estimates that that there are around 210
recyclers in South Africa, which employ 6 000 in the formal sector and around 48 000 people
are in the informal sector working as waste pickers and collectors.. It is estimated that only
43% of all plastics are recycled which implies that there is the potential for growth in the
industry and that this can be achieved through educating consumers and companies,
providing more collection points and improving signage on packaging as to whether the
packaging is recyclable or not.

Plastics SA points out in the survey that in South Africa the recycling industry is based on
economic principles i.e. it must make money, while in other countries, notably in Europe,
recycling is done because it is the right thing to do.

Pollution as a whole does have a negative impact on the economy as it impacts on

industries such as tourism and fishing. Plastic pollution in the oceans has also been shown
to be ingested by fish where it stays as small micro plastic particles which are then ingested
by people causing various medical complications.

In supporting recycled packaging for our brand and providing education to our target market,
we can demonstrate economic benefits as our recycled packaging not only creates and
sustains jobs but it’s also the right thing to do, and by extending our message we will also be
assisting other industries affected by pollution.

Q.1.3 Socio-cultural analysis

Nahman, Wise and De Lange 4 argue that in South Africa, decision makers prioritised social
and economic development at the expense of environmental integrity The Accelerated
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, which was the overarching macroeconomic
strategy for South Africa until 2014, explicitly subordinated environmental goals in favour of
economic goals and employment goals, with the result that pollution and waste was not
properly managed.

Jenna Rambeck and others 5. have ranked South Africa as the 11th worst offender in terms
of mismanaged plastic waste and the reasons for this dovetail with the arguments of
Nahman 4 .

It is only recently that South Africa has turned its attention to prioritising waste management,
and specifically plastic waste and its impact on the ocean, and this message needs to be
conveyed to the people of South Africa as it can have significant adverse effects on the
economy as a whole, and specifically on the fishing and tourism industries which could lead
to job losses and poverty in certain areas.

Less than 5% of people in the South Africa separate their waste at household
level. This is despite the fact that recycling, re-use, and composting can
create a value chain which can have additional job opportunities which are
much needed while is also saves an average 60% of energy used to make
them.
1 https://www.unenvironment.org
2 https://www.news24.com/Green/News/sa-to-send-plastic-pollution-packing-20180516
3 https://www.plasticrecyclingsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Executive-
summary-1.pdf
4 Environmental and resource economics in South Africa: status quo and lessons for
developing countries
5 https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-
2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf