Printing SA Announces Industry Updates

Printing SA has announced the latest industry developments, including the copyright bill, Protection of Personal Information (POPI) compliance and more.

Copyright Bill

President Ramaphosa has referred the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill back to the National Assembly, based on reservations the President has about the constitutionality of the legislation passed by parliament. Printing SA has been part of the Coalition for Effective Copyright in South Africa. The Coalition has been campaigning for the redrafting of the Copyright Amendment Bill – which required the provisions in the bill to be re-evaluated, reconceptualised and rewritten to improve the protection of authors and publishers in the internet age. Read the President’s statement on why he sent the Bill back to Parliament.

Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act

The POPI Act commencement date (or POPI effective date), was 1 July 2020. The Act promotes the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies and seeks to balance the right to privacy against other rights, such as access to information. A grace period of one year starts running from the commencement date, and businesses need to be compliant. Read more

Industry waste

The industry waste management plans under Section 28 were published in December 2017. Fast-forward to December 2019, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy closed Section 28 process by rejecting all plans and announced that she would engage with stakeholders in order to propose the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework process under Section 18 of Waste Act. EPR is a global approach that takes into account the waste produced by industry and the mechanism used to deal with the products used by the industry that become waste.

The notice defines ‘Producers’ as any person or category of persons or a brand owner who is engaged in the commercial manufacture, conversion, refurbishment or import of new and/or used products. Importing converters of any printed/unprinted material are referred to on the notice as ‘Producers’, therefore they will have extended producer responsibility, meaning after the product has been used by the consumer and became waste, it becomes their responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.

The notice covers waste that arises from the use by a consumer or an end-user of the following materials: paper and paper packaging material; plastic packaging; biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging; single-use plastic products; single-use compostable plastic products; single-use biodegradable plastic products; glass packaging; and metal packaging containers.

Below are the proposed consultation regulations on EPR; EPR scheme for paper, packaging and some single-use products; and National Waste Management Strategy 2020 Costing Framework. Printing SA urges members to provide input/comments before the regulations become final.

Consultation on the proposed regulations regarding EPR

Creecy published a notice on 26 June 2020, in terms of section 69; 72 and 73 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008.

1. The purpose of these regulations is to provide the framework for the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of extended producer responsibility schemes by producers, importers and brand owners in terms of section 18 of the Act.
2. To ensure the effective and efficient management of the identified waste streams.
3. To encourage and enable the implementation of chemicals and waste economy and circular economy initiatives.
4. The regulations are applicable to the identified products in terms of section 18(1)(a) of the Act and its related waste streams published in the Government Gazette by the Minister.

Members of the public are invited to submit to the Minister, within 30 days of publication of this Notice in the Gazette. Please send your input/comments to kntanzi@printingsa.org on or before 21 July 2020.

Regulations: Extended Producer Responsibility

Consultation on the proposed extended producer responsibility scheme for paper, packaging and some single-use products

Regarding the notice published on 26 June 2020, in terms of Section 18 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008:

1. The purpose of this notice is to require a producer of products or class of products listed in paragraph 4 (paper and paper packaging material; etc.) of this notice to set up procedures, processes and invest resources to implement the extended producer responsibility measures linked to the collection of their products in the post-consumer stage; etc.

2. The scope of notice covers waste that arises from the use by a consumer or an end-user of paper and paper packaging; plastic packaging, etc. The extended producer responsibility will be applicable to the identified products or class of products (paper and paper packaging material, liquid board packaging – filled and unfilled, etc.)

3. The producers of the items listed in paragraph 4 of this notice will be responsible for developing and implementing an extended producer responsibility scheme.

4. The targets for each identified waste stream is tabled in the notice for a period of five years from the date of the implementation of the extended producer responsibility scheme.

Please send your comments/inputs to kntanzi@printingsa.org on or before 21 July 2020.

Regulation: Producer Responsibility Scheme

Consultation: National waste management strategy on 2020 costing framework

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries is requesting comments on the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2020 Costing Framework document. The purpose of this document is to suggest an overall framework and indicative costing for the financing of the implementation of the NWMS 2020 that is cognisant of the need to facilitate and incentivise private and public investment in the waste sector. The document includes a discussion of the economic instruments, revenue flows, and institutional mechanisms that underpin financing of the sector.

The intention is to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to have an overview of the costing where possible, improve on the accuracy of costing estimates and appropriateness of institutional proposals, for which detailed costing is done as a separate process. Please forward any comments/input on the Framework document by 25 June 2020 to kntanzi@printingsa.org

Printing industry employee benefit fund for SATU members

Due to the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa, a proposal was made by the SATU board on 10 April 2020 to assist the members of the fund by providing an additional assistance benefit as a temporary rule to be written into the registered rules of the fund in the following manner:

1. Extend the unemployment benefit rule (6.1) to include a temporary rule for all members that are experiencing no or short payment of wages/salaries as a direct result of the Covid-19-19 lockdown, level 5 to level 2.

2. Rule 6.1 will thus be amended to include an additional rule 6.1.2 to apply to the above proposal for the duration of the Covid-19 lockdown, level 5 to level 2. This has been effective from 1 May 2020 and can be claimed by an eligible member every month/every four weeks for a maximum period of 26 weeks with no or short payments of wages/salary.

To download and read the rule amendment in full click here. To apply for this benefit download and fill in the form here and send it to admin@satu.co.za.

Printing SA Training Survey June 2020

Printing SA compiled a list of survey questions to improve its training delivery for members, take the survey here.