Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act No. 73 of 1989)

In these regulations any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act No. 73 of 1989) shall bear the meaning so assigned to it in that Act and, unless the context indicates otherwise:

“commercial distribution”

means making plastic bags directly or indirectly available for the packaging or the carrying of goods;

“plastic carrier bag”

means a bag, made of plastic film, with handles, with or without gussets, and which complies with paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Compulsory Specification;

“plastic flat bag”

means a bag, made of plastic film, without handles, with or without gussets, and which complies with paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Compulsory Specification;

”plastic film”

means a continuous, thin, non-woven membranous skin or layer of flexible material made of thermoplastic materials;

"post-consumer recyclate"

means material generated by households or commercial, industrial or institutional facilities, in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose, and includes returns of material from the distribution chain, as well as in-house scrap that already contains post-consumer recyclate content;

[Definition inserted by section 2 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), Notice No. 317, GG44421, dated 7 April 2021]

“Compulsory Specification”

means the Compulsory Specification for Plastic Carrier Bags and Flat Bags published in terms of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No 29 of 1993);

“trade”

means the sale of plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags to any person, including, but not limited to, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of goods, for use within the Republic of South Africa.