South Africa bats for metal-free pipes

South Africa is on its way to having metal-free PVC pipes as manufacturers of PVC pipes rush to comply with the Southern African Bureau of Standards' (SABS) ruling that all locally manufactured pipes should be free from heavy metals by July this year. The requirement stemmed from an announcement made on October 30, 2013 by Sibongile Dhlamini, General Manager at the SABS Certification (Gauteng,) following some changes in the standards as recommended by the technical committee of the SABS Standard Division.

The new requirement has been welcomed by the Southern African Plastics Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) which represents over 80% of the country's pipes manufacturers. According to SAPPMA Chairman Jan Venter, the association has been working with SABS on standards and quality, and SAPPMA has been striving to promote and upgrade the quality of products that its members produce. Prior to the announcement of the new requirement, SAPPMA members had begun to voluntary remove heavy metal stabilisers from their PVC pipes as early as 2006. SAPPMA fully implemented this policy in 2009 and applied to pipes used in drinking water, sewer, drainage and mining systems.
The removal of heavy metals from PVC pipes entails additional costs to producers but SAPPMA members believe that health and environmental safety should take priority. Currently, all PVC pipes produced by SAPPMA members are lead-free and utilise stabilisers with environmentally friend materials such as calcium zinc or organic-based materials.

Local PVC pipes manufacturers were given up to 1 July 2015 to implement the new standard requirements. SABS-certified local manufacturers of PVC pipes have a period of 24 months as of 30 October 2013 to comply with the new standard requirements. After the deadline, all pipes bearing the SABS mark of quality will need to be re-submitted for testing in order to be issued new permits. Manufacturers of plastic products in South Africa are beginning to take steps to conform with global standards focused on meeting environmental concerns. According to SAPPMA, although lead does not leach from the plastic pipes and does not pose any danger to people once installed, SAPPMA members have felt the need to create a safer environment for PVC manufacturers who are at risk for lead poisoning.

Industries meet environmental concerns The plastics industry in South Africa has been working hard to meet global trends on environment protection and preservation. Despite being a complex market, South Africa has been the recipient of large amounts of foreign investments, with the plastics industry benefiting from such inflows. Consumption of standard thermoplastics in South Africa is projected to grow annually by 4.7% up to 2017 due to rising demand for packaged foods, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.

Consumption of locally produced and imported plastics products, including recycled plastics, – is estimated to reach 1.95 million tonnes in 2017, according to the report. Other factors that drive demand for plastics products are the construction and infrastructure projects, as well as demand for consumer products. South Africa's market for plastics Is relatively well developed and poses potential for innovation.