Re-use or recycle

IN 2014, the then finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, revealed that South Africa’s plastic shopping bag levy scheme had cut the use of the bags from 10 billion down to 4 billion a year.

The tax was introduced by then environmental minister Valli Moosa 12 years ago to deal with the problem of plastic bags that end up as wind-blown litter or in waste facilities.

Yet a glance around today doesn’t support the view that plastic bag littering has decreased.

When introduced, the levy was a modest 3c a bag. Today it’s around 50c, yet the ubiquitous bags – once dubbed South Africa’s national flower – are still an eyesore on our landscape. Recycling – and not just of plastic bags – must become a mantra.