Read your September 2025 Food & Beverage Reporter Magazine

The world was promised a turning point. By 2024, governments pledged to deliver a binding global treaty on plastics—one that would address the crisis from start to finish, from design and production through to waste management and recycling. But as we sit in mid-2025, that promise has fractured.

Talks in Geneva collapsed under the weight of petrochemical interests, with producing nations rejecting mandatory production limits and settling instead for voluntary measures. The result? Plastic production is projected to reach an astonishing 1.2 billion tonnes by 2060, while less than 10% of plastic today is recycled. Recycling is left carrying the blame for a crisis it did not cause—expected to fix the system, yet too often denied the support it needs to thrive. This is the broken promise of the plastics age.

And it is precisely why the work of South Africa’s recycling pioneers has never been more urgent. Extrupet stands as proof that with vision, investment, and commitment, plastics recycling can succeed—even against the odds. But without bold and decisive policy, even the strongest champions risk being drowned in the tide of cheap virgin plastics and global inaction.

In this issue, Food & Beverage Reporter speaks with Chandru Wadhwani of Extrupet, who shares powerful insights on why plastics recycling must remain at the forefront of the environmental agenda. His words are both a warning and a call to action: if global leaders have faltered, then it is up to industry, innovators, and nations like ours to show that change is not only possible—it is essential.

This month, we also celebrate another powerful force shaping the sector: women. As part of Women’s Month, the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) profiled three remarkable leaders—brewer Megan Gemel, township distributor Pulane Koster, and Heineken South Africa Quality Manager Makgosi Booysen—who are challenging stereotypes and reshaping what leadership in the food and beverage industry looks like.

Equally, innovation continues to redefine what excellence means in production. In an era where food and beverage producers are under relentless pressure to deliver both quality and efficiency, precision analytical tools have become indispensable. Anton Paar’s latest DMA series, anchored in innovation and robust design, sets a new global standard in density and concentration measurement—empowering producers to achieve accuracy, consistency, and confidence in every batch.

At the same time, the industry is being reshaped in laboratories, where the future of food takes its earliest form. Lab-scale food processing plays a central role in R&D, allowing researchers to test new formulations, refine processes, and push the boundaries of product development long before innovations reach commercial scale. In a market driven by changing consumer demands, this work is critical to keeping the food and beverage sector agile, responsive, and competitive. To read how VEGA is meeting this challenge, click here.

From tackling plastic pollution, to breaking barriers in leadership, to driving innovation in both production and R&D, this issue is a reminder that progress is never built on promises alone. It is built by people, by pioneers, and by technologies bold enough to move the industry forward.

If you have any news, trends, tech improvements, or just celebrating that special company anniversary, talk to us. 

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For for any advertising or editorial queries or contributions or to request our media pack for 2025 contact us at wendy@fbreporter.co.za and editor@fbreporter.co.za 

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