The Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) - the local Product Responsibility Organisation (PRO) representing the local PVC industry - has announced the appointment of Adri Spangenberg as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Adri is no stranger to heading up non-profit associations and fighting the cause for the recycling of challenging plastics, as she is also the CEO of the Polystyrene Association of South Africa. She was appointed by the SAVA Board of Directors in June, and has since been working hard behind the scenes to prepare the submissions for the Industry Waste Management plan (IWMP) and managing the day-to-day administration of the Association.

According to Adri, there is a lot of synergy that exists between SAVA and the Polystyrene Association of SA, and wearing the CEO hat for both associations seem like a perfect fit. "Both PVC and Polystyrene are misunderstood plastics and face similar threats. End-markets for both of these polymers need to be developed to encourage increased collection and recycling. Fortunately, they share many of the same members who are involved in the supply of raw material components or the production of packaging materials. These members often need to represented at the same meetings with government and other stakeholders, and being intimately involved with both organisations affords me a bird’s eye view on the industry, as well as a stronger platform to represent the interests of both these industries. It also has the added benefit of administrative savings as both offices have now been consolidated into one”.

 Adri has also been warmly welcomed by Global Vinyl Council (GVC) who has offered her their assistance and support with driving SAVA’s Product Stewardship Commitment (PSC) and other PVC-related matters.

“It is wonderful to have such a wide network of experts at your disposal to call upon for guidance and to learn from their international best practices. I am honoured by the confidence the SAVA board has placed in me and thank the Polystyrene Association of South Africa for their support in managing both these important associations. I look forward to the next chapter and welcome the input of current and new members who are interested in signing up and supporting the work we are doing to prove our commitment to Extended Producer Responsibility, " Adri concludes.

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