Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
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Chapter 4: The toxic cradle of productionsource of <strong>the</strong>ir hazardous wastes toge<strong>the</strong>r with various o<strong>the</strong>r spent chemicals. TheBerkeley Plastics Task Force notes that producing one PET bottle results in “morethan 100 times <strong>the</strong> toxic emissions to air and water than making <strong>the</strong> same size bottleout of glass” [Stover et al 1996: 11]. Some of this pollution is from converters. Theredoes not appear to be any information on this in South Africa. Nampak, one of <strong>the</strong>largest packaging firms, gives no information of process emissions or waste in itsSustainability Report [2007]. US data is also limited, according to Stover et al, but itindicates substantial VOC emissions to air. It seems likely that workers get <strong>the</strong> bruntof <strong>the</strong>se emissions, particularly in smaller and poorly capitalised plants.Box 17: SafripolSafripol is owned by ABSA Bank (49%), Thebe Investments (21%) and Safripolmanagers (30%). The consortium was formed in 2006 to buy Dow Chemical’spolymers plant in Sasolburg for ZAR 1.3 billion and has restored <strong>the</strong> company’soriginal name.Safripol was originally established in 1972 as a joint venture between Germantransnational Hoechst SA and state backed Sentrachem. Its main plant in Sasolburgwas established in close cooperation with Sasol which supplied <strong>the</strong> monomerfeedstock. This cooperation was maintained when transnational chemicals giantDow, notorious for its association with <strong>the</strong> Bhopal disaster, bought <strong>the</strong> company andchanged its name to Dow Plastics. In 2006, according to Safripol, “Dow’s strategywith regard to emerging markets had changed.” 77 This would seem to reflect Dow’s‘invest-for-growth’ agenda focused on joint ventures with petro-state corporationsand <strong>the</strong> big emerging economies of China, India and Brazil. 78 Dow will continue tosupport Safripol’s technology development.Fur<strong>the</strong>r, plastic products <strong>the</strong>mselves emit chemical vapours. As a general rule, <strong>the</strong> moreflexible plastics emit most. This is particularly significant in respect of food packaging.The migration of chemicals such as phthalates into food and <strong>the</strong> domestic environmenthas been shown to be associated with declining male fertility because <strong>the</strong>y mimicoestrogen hormones. O<strong>the</strong>r chemicals with potential for migration, including traces of77 At www.safripol.co.za78 See Dow’s 2007 and 2006 Corporate Reports. The 2006 report is notable for its paean to Milton Friedman,<strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r of neo-liberalism.- 110 - groundWork - <strong>Wasting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Nation</strong>