Cape Times

Help get plastic out of the sea

- Nathan How Son www.plasticsin­fo.co.za

ONE million tons of plastic were dumped in South African landfills last year, with the recycling rate of plastics dropping 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, Plastics SA has said.

Plastics SA aims to raise awareness of the economic, environmen­tal and social benefits of recycling with its annual Clean Up and Recycle SA Week in September.

The initiative is supported by local government­s, schools and businesses, and those not yet on board have been encouraged to join.

“During this time, we encourage communitie­s, schools and businesses to clean up the areas where they work, live and play by collecting the litter and ensuring that it gets recycled,” Plastics SA’s sustainabi­lity director Douw Steyn said.

According to the representa­tive body, clean-ups during the annual recycle week attract up to 120 000 participan­ts.

A highlight of the initiative will be the 31st Internatio­nal Coastal Clean-up on September 16.

South Africans will join hundreds of thousands of volunteers on six continents to pick up litter along their coasts.

A study by the World Economic Forum found that a truckload of plastic flowed into the ocean every minute, and plastic in the sea could outweigh fish by 2050.

“Plastics SA co-ordinates the beach clean-ups that take place in the three Cape provinces, as well as various river clean-ups that take place inland,” Steyn said.

Plastics SA has partnered with KwaZulu-Natal’s Marine Waste Network, who will be organising clean-ups along the coast in the region.

“To date, nearly 12 million people have been part of the world’s biggest volunteer effort to protect the ocean, and South Africa is a major part of this success story,” Steyn said.

Visit for more informatio­n.

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