THE LAST STRAW All about the single-use plastic problem that’s killing our oceans – and our lifeblood

Our big fat single-use plastic problem AND 22 SMALL CHANGES YOU CAN MAKE RIGHT NOW TO SOLVE IT

There is giant mass of microscopic plastic pieces floating in the South Pacific. Discovered earlier this year, it’s about twice the size of South Africa – but it’s not the only one. Plastic is a rapidly growing problem: a worldwide study published in Science Advances earlier this year predicts that over the next 30 years we’ll produce four times more plastic waste than ever before. The same study found that, of the plastic waste we’d produced by 2015, only 9% was recycled. Those are depressingly huge and shockingly low numbers. But you’re a committed recycler, right? Surely as soon as everyone is persuaded to do the same, the problem will disappear? Wrong. The thing about plastic is that it cannot be recycled back into its original form; it can be recycled only into lower-grade plastic – essentially downcycled – and that becomes more and more difficult to do. Single-use plastics (those created for only one use, like straws, bottles, utensils, shopping bags and disposable cups) are difficult to recycle and, in most cases, they don’t even get to that point. Most end up in landfills where they take hundreds of years to degrade and scarily, when they eventually do, the tiny disintegrated pieces of plastic disperse into the earth and sea.

On top of all this, we just aren’t recycling as much as we should to keep up with the rapidly growing mass production of plastic.

That’s why it’s time to refuse the plastic shopping bag, stop with the bottled drinks and say no to the straws in our margaritas or for our kids’ parties – starting now.

In August this year, Kenya banned plastic bags, with a hefty penalty if you break the new law: US$40000 or up to four years in jail for anyone producing, selling or even using plastic bags. It joined a list of 40 other countries, including Rwan-

da, Tanzania, Italy and France, that have implemented a ban. Where there’s no outright prohibition, different types of levies and taxes have been put in place – for example, Germany’s deposit system, where consumers return plastic bottles (and cans and glass) to supermarkets and receive a deposit of €0,25 per plastic bottle, and slightly less for cans.

In South Africa, a bag levy was introduced in 2004, but it has failed dismally. Most consumers have become used to paying for a bag at the till. ‘One of the big challenges is that with the taxation on plastic bags in South Africa, the government essentially gets money for every bag that’s sold,’ says Dr Harriet Davies Mostert, Head of Conservation at the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The government makes money from our use of plastic bags, and there’s not much urgency to ban them. ‘We need innovative ways of disincentivising the use of plastic that will still provide money for government, but not in an environmentally degrading way.’

Plastic shopping bags are just the tip of the single-use plastic iceberg. The classifications for different plastics are complicated (see box on page 35) and although some can be recycled, they often aren’t, which means they still end up in landfills. Microbeads – small plastic particles, usually about 1mm in size, used for cosmetics like soap, toothpaste and washing powders – are another problem, because they find their way into the sea, where they’re ingested by (and eventually kill) marine life.

‘We’ve heard the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” but there needs to be a “refrain” in front of that: don’t just reduce it; simply don’t buy it.’

Evaluating your plastic use after looking at this list is eye-opening: you realise that single-use plastic is everywhere.

So why don’t manufacturers stop using unnecessary plastic packaging? ‘It’s good hygiene; it keeps things fresher for longer; it’s good storage; and it’s cheaper than anything else,’ says Dr Davies-Mostert.

Individual action is important, but it will take more than that to make the difference we need.

‘One of the dangers of punting individual action alone is that people think, “I don’t buy bottled water; I use reusable bags”, and think that’s changing the world. But a small handful of people are doing that. There has to be legislative change down the line: there are many countries and cities that have banned the use of bags, and it’s made a massive difference. We need to lobby government to make these kinds of changes. It’s not just about one organisation; it needs to be a strong multi-sectoral fight. And this isn’t just about the environment, but also about our health and wellbeing.’

For example, the microbeads ingested by marine life go into the animals’ flesh, so if you’re eating fish,

you’re almost certainly eating plastic.

In a country as stratified by wealth as ours, plastic recycling is a luxury worry for most South Africans.

‘When you’re living from hand to mouth and you don’t know what you’re going to eat the next day, you are not worrying about plastic,’ Dr Davies-Mostert says. ‘A grassroots movement needs to start happening.’

And one of the first places to start that is with the retailers.

‘Individual life choices are important,’ she says, ‘but they’re not going to achieve what we have to achieve unless we make changes across the board, and all the way to the top tiers of government. We need much tighter control on the way retailers operate.’

Even small adjustments that will work towards changing consumer culture in the retail sector can make a big difference: ‘When you go to a supermarket they always ask, “Would you like a bag?” instead of saying, “Have you brought a bag?” It’s a subtle shift,

There are signs of slow change. Some restaurants no longer provide straws, and coffee shops are encouraging people to bring their own takeaway cups. Woolworths made recycling symbols on its packaging clearer and provides an online guide to the symbols.

In November, Cape Town saw the launch of the first plastic-free grocery store: Nude Foods shoppers can refill bulk pantry items and household products, and buy loose vegetables and fruit to take home in reusable packaging. At the time of going to print, Shop Zero was running a crowdfunding campaign on Thundafund for its zero-waste, zero-plastic store, which is set to open in Cape Town towards the end of the year.

‘It’s never too late! We don’t have to end up living in a world that’s drowning in plastic. We can halt this,’ Dr Davies-Mostert says.

And it’s not just about taking responsibility for your own plastic waste by recycling, she adds, but also about minimising plastic in your life: ‘We’ve heard the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” but there needs to be a “refrain” in front of that: don’t just reduce it – simply don’t buy it. Once you’ve bought it, even if you recycle you’re still adding to the amount of plastic that needs to be absorbed by our environment.’ but an important one. I get strange looks when I put my loose fruit and vegetables in a basket and not in the little bags they provide. That culture needs to change.’

The effective running of industry bodies is also important. PETCO (petco.co.za) is the industry body for PET (polyethylene terephthalate – the bottles water, milk, juice, sports or energy drinks come in) recycling in SA. They do not manufacture, buy or sell any material themselves; their contracted recyclers take PET plastic bottles (identified with a number 1 polymer code on or near the bottom) for recycling into a host of other products. PETCO also provides information, support and guidance for those who want to start their own recycling businesses – there’s a lot of opportunity for that in South Africa.