Help get plastic out of the sea

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.

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