[Interview] Kishan Singh, CEO, MetPacSA, South Africa
Kishan Singh is the CEO The Metal Packaging Association of South Africa (MetPacSA) a not- for profit organization that seeks to position the South African metal packaging industry as a key contributor to sustainable development principles, through investment in post-consumer metal packaging recovery and re-utilisation.
He will be speaking at the Future Foods Conference on the role of The Metal Packaging Association of South Africa, the current membership and the association’s strategy.
Tell us about METPAC SA
The Metal Packaging Association of South Africa (MetPacSA) is a registered Non-Profit Company as defined in Section 21 of the Companies Act No. 61 of 1973, registration number: 2017/216419/08.
MetPacSA is a registered Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
Our mission, as the PRO of choice for metal packaging in SA, is to establish the SA metal packaging industry as a valuable contributor to sustainable development principles, through investment in post-consumer metal packaging recovery and re-utilisation.
What has been the contribution of METPAC SA to the growth of Food and beverages sector?
As a PRO (Producer responsibility organisation) under S18 of National Environmental Management: Waste Act, SA, we are accountable for stimulating the post consumer recovery of metal packaging in SA, aligning with circular economies and sustainable development principles. The food and beverage metal packaging represents some 65 000 tons of metal packaging placed in SA annually and we are accountable for ensuring that as much of this tonnage is recovered, recycled and/or re-introduced into the metal packaging circular economy, thereby preventing such packaging ending up in landfill or as litter in SA.
You are one of the speakers in the Future Foods Conference. How crucial is the Conference and why should people attend?
I believe that the compliance expectations of S18 of NEMWA must be understood and appreciated by as many people as possible, within and outside of the general packaging industry in SA, to enable greater participation and support of the circular economy thinking.
As a speaker to the conference, what subjects will you be covering?
The role of MetPacSA, the current membership, the strategy, the compliance requirements of S18 of NEMWA.
Why do they matter to the food and beverage industry in Africa?
This is to ensure that the recovery of post-consumer metal packaging is stimulated by financial injection to current metal recovery infrastructure within SA, as well as other projects that will enhance such material recovery. This can be achieved by developing a robust model that supports this idea.
What is your company’s growth strategy for 2022 and beyond?
This is not so much about the growth of MetPacSA as much as it is the growth of the monitoring and measurement of the post-consumer metal packaging over the next 5 years as per our commitment to DFFE in our strategy document.
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