Plastics SA Names Mark Berry as New Chairman
Plastics SA's annual general meeting reviewed the 2025/2026 year and confirmed a new board chairman.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Consumer Goods
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Plastics SA held its Annual General Meeting to review the 2025/2026 year, and Mark Berry was appointed as the new Chairman of the Plastics SA Board. Jeremy Mackintosh of Polyoak Packaging stepped down after six years as chairman.
Why it matters
Recyclable materials are still lost to landfill, and South Africa's plastics recycling rate remains around 30%, so the industry's leadership shapes efforts to improve recovery. Weak economic growth, rising costs and increasing imports are also putting pressure on local manufacturers.
South Africa mechanically recycled 485 000 tonnes of plastics in 2025, an overall plastics output recycling rate of 30.1%, and domestic recyclate consumption grew 62% over the past decade. The stub does not give a comparison against prior-year recycling volumes or an industry target.
The players
Plastics SA
Plastics SA is the industry association representing South Africa's plastics sector, including manufacturers, recyclers and suppliers.
Mark Berry
Mark Berry is a member of the Plastics SA board who has now been appointed as its new chairman.
Jeremy Mackintosh
Jeremy Mackintosh is associated with Polyoak Packaging and has served on the Plastics SA board since 2007.
The details
Plastics SA reviewed the 2025/2026 year at its Annual General Meeting. Inadequate municipal collection, limited separation-at-source, contamination and inefficient sorting cause recyclable materials to be lost to landfill.
Timeline
2007: Jeremy Mackintosh began serving on the Plastics SA board in various capacities.
2025: South Africa mechanically recycled 485 000 tonnes of plastics.
2025/2026 year: The Annual General Meeting reviewed the year's progress.
Market Landscape
The 30.1% recycling rate reported by Plastics SA shows that domestic recovery is growing but still well short of recovering most of the material produced. The leadership change comes as local manufacturers face rising costs and increasing imports.
Shoppers may see the effects of local plastics recycling and manufacturing costs in packaging over time. The recycling gap means more usable material continues to go to landfill rather than being reused.
The takeaway
Households can help by separating recyclable plastics at source, since improved separation is one of the gaps that keeps recyclable material out of recovery streams.
Further reading
For broader context on supply pressures, see the Consumer Goods section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Mining Weekly.
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