Nampak is ramping up manufacturing of aluminium cans as Africa’s most significant manufacturer of drinks packaging reacts to shoppers’ world-wide plastic rejections.

The company is also placing increased focus on cardboard cartons and the development of a sustainable plastic lid made predominantly of sugar cane, CEO Andre de Ruyter claimed in a telephone interview. That is the result of an ever-growing concern regarding the effect of plastic on the environment, especially on products like single-use straws. “Consumer sentiment against plastic packaging that cannot be recycled is very clear,” de Ruyter explained. “Aluminium is a valuable metal and so people have incentive to recycle it.”

Nampak, along with other container manufacturers, can increase aluminium-can manufacturing alongside expansion into rapidly growing regions such as Africa, where the demand for bottled and canned beverages is on the increase as consumers begin to purchase packaged goods that were previously unavailable. Nampak has been shelling out R100m on a fresh new food-can line in Nigeria, whilst the nation’s GZ Industries is launching a new factory in South Africa.

Nampak shares fell 5.1 percent to R14.75 on Tuesday following an announcement by the organization detailing a 7% increase in full-year operating profit. The company resisted a resumption of dividends due to a longstanding difficulty transferring money from Angola and Zimbabwe along with its continuing effort to sell its glass division.