Support efforts to minimise our impact on world
The world is on the brink of being overwhelmed with plastic and our country is no exception with South Africans using between 30 - 50 kilograms of plastic per person per year. This often ends up as debris on our streets. It contributes to the billions of tons of plastic in landfills and often finds its way into the ocean where several sea creatures are known to accidentally consume plastic waste. Microplastics ingested by fish can enter the human food chain. Minute bits of plastic have also been detected in drinking water.
In short our dependence on plastic packaging poses a direct threat to the environment and to the wellbeing of all living creatures.
So it is to be welcomed that some major local retailers are phasing out single-use plastic and that the government is mulling further restrictions on plastic bags and containers.
Opportunity also knocks. Greater East London boasts some pioneering recycling initiatives where people can earn money handing in waste plastic and others make money from recycling it.
Further afield in our province, the Kouga municipality has an ambitious project which hopes to use recycled plastic to make roads.
This technology processes plastic bottles and bags into pellets which are then used to seal asphalt roads, reportedly making them less inclined to potholes. This is certainly an option worth exploring.
Of course plastic forms but part of the rubbish that we produce and that too often litters our neighbourhoods.
SA produces 140-million tons of waste a year, most of which goes to landfill sites. This spells economic opportunity as clean ups and recycling have the potential to create much needed jobs.
At the weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Good Green Deeds programme in East London to encourage citizens to take responsibility for their environment.
A similar campaign was launched in India last month.
The initiative is modelled on Rwanda's successful campaign that made the country's capital, Kigali, much admired as the cleanest city in Africa - both in terms of lack of litter and green initiatives.
We can do likewise here.
Plastic packaging poses a direct threat to the environment and all living creatures