ED’S LETTER
We live on the secondmost polluted continent on Earth. Here’s what you can do about it, writes Sonya Schoeman
When British comedian Ricky Gervais was little, his older siblings used to take him to the forest, where he loved to get knee-deep and investigative with nature. One particular day he was especially thrilled to find a discarded snakeskin, and like any little brother worth his salt, began chasing his older sister with it. To his utter delight, she was revolted. ‘Put it down, it’s got germs!’ she said, and ‘You’re not coming in the car with that!’ Years later, wanting to get one up on her in front of his teenage mates, he began teasing her about it, when she shot back: ‘You do know it was a used condom, don’t you?’ There are many morals to this story besides ‘always assume your siblings have more dirt on you than you on them’. Another is that Earth makes a poor bin for rubbish, leading to many instances of mistaken identity. Heard about whales confusing clear plastic packets for jellyfish, for example? According to Dr Tony Ribbink from the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), Africa is the second-most polluted continent in the world (number one: Asia, especially Southeast Asia) and something needs to be done about it. This is why SST is organising the first-ever African Marine Waste Conference in Port Elizabeth this July. It’s a first attempt to get the 38 African coastal and island states to find solutions to these wastemanagement challenges. There are many ‘what can be done?’ conversations to be had around this, ranging from government action and legislation to personal responsibility. Civic action is one within our control and so there’s an opportunity to throw one’s hat over the wall, here, and see what we, as South Africans, can do to alleviate the situation. Kenya has just become the latest country to ban plastic bags (Rwanda did so back in 2008). Should we motivate to bring about such a thing for South Africa, for instance? We’re partnering with SST to see what we, the public, can bring to the party. Keen to put forward an idea? Keep an eye on our social media platforms and join in the conversation. We’ll be collecting the good ideas, giving our own suggestions, and keeping you informed about this initiative. Enjoy this issue.