Manikam Michael Nadar
Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.
Manduth Ramchander
Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.
Raveen Rathilall
Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.
Kishan Singh
Department of Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.
In this post, we present a brief overview of our recently published book chapter titled “The Effects of Humane Entrepreneurship on Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises’ Performance”
Together, Sections 28 and 18 require packaging producers and brand owners to assume responsibility for the recovery and reuse of post-consumer packaging, with the objective of reducing pollution in public spaces such as parks, gardens, streets, rivers, oceans, and landfill sites. This responsibility extends to the establishment of Material Recovery Facilities and the development of business infrastructure to support coordinated, nationwide recycling initiatives. Recovered materials and energy are subsequently reintegrated into manufacturing processes, thereby strengthening circular economy models and aligning industry practices with broader sustainable development objectives.
The regulatory pressure associated with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) resulted in the establishment of substrate-specific, non-profit Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs). These organisations are funded by member companies operating within their respective packaging value chains and are mandated to fulfil the compliance requirements set out in the EPR legislation.
Under the current South African EPR framework, all packaging producers with an annual production volume exceeding 10 tons are classified as “obliged industries.” These entities are required either to join an existing PRO or to develop and implement an approved individual EPR scheme for their products.