Johannesburg - South Africa is known not only for its stunning coastlines, but also for its commitment to preserving them. Plastics SA’s annual Clean-Up and Recycle SA Week took place this week and plays a pivotal role in promoting environmental sustainability and combating the waste crisis plaguing our beautiful country.
Sustainability director at Plastics SA, Douw Steyn, said this week’s clean-up culminates in International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICC), which is marked today, and takes place at beaches across the country and around the world.
“This year the Clean-Up and Recycle SA Week will again feature numerous clean-ups on beaches, at rivers, water sources and in communities and neighbourhoods around the country. Highlights of the week include National River Clean-up Day which took place on Wednesday and National Recycling Day SA which happened yesterday,” he said.
To further emphasise their dedication and aid in clean-up activities, Plastics SA has increased the number of yellow refuse bags to 700 000, ensuring that the industry and co-ordinators of clean-ups can make a substantial impact on cleaning up our beaches and rivers. Clean-up champions in Gauteng and Mpumalanga will also be recognised and rewarded with essential clean-up kits which include bags, gumboots, gloves, rakes and other equipment needed to clean the local environment, roadsides and rivers.
“Plastics SA supports many of the clean-ups that happen during this week and during the rest of the year, by way of refuse bags. Our main objective is to create awareness about the need to protect our environment, the scourge of litter and the value in the collected, recyclable plastics. They are organised by communities, NGOs, individuals and citizens who are committed to this cause. South Africa is facing a waste crisis and every citizen can make a difference to reduce the amount of litter that pollutes our environment or ends up in landfills.
As far as possible, we try to ensure that the clean-ups that we support are audited and that volunteers register online on our www.cleanupandrecycle.co.za website. This allows us to build a detailed snapshot of the waste landscape in the country, the number of people who participated, and how we as an industry can respond and provide support to community initiatives,” Steyn said.
During the month of September, Plastics SA, with the support of raw material suppliers, converters, retailers, brand owners, packaging streams, producer responsibility organisations (PROs), various sponsors, national and local government entities, community organisations and municipalities will be conducting clean-ups in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of effective waste management and recycling. This collective effort underscores the importance of collaborative action in addressing environmental challenges.
“We encourage South Africans from all walks of life to make a difference where they work, live, learn or play this September by participating in or co-ordinating a clean-up in order to create a cleaner, greener South Africa. Together, we can make a lasting difference!” Steyn added.
This is the 27th year that Plastics SA will co-ordinate South Africa’s participation in the International Coastal Clean-up – the world’s biggest volunteer effort for ocean health. In 2000, Plastics SA initiated Clean-up and Recycle SA Week, which takes place annually, during the week before the International Coastal Clean-up.
“Clean-ups have allowed for greater awareness and monitoring of the problem. Thanks to the ongoing commitment of organisations such as Ocean Conservancy, The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The African Waste Network and Plastics SA, who have added their weight to ensuring that more people in Africa, and specifically southern Africa, are familiar with the issue of marine debris.
Support from organisations and individuals is essential if the Clean-up and Recycle SA Campaign, National Recycling Day, World Clean-Up Day and International Coastal Clean-up Day are to be successful,” Steyn said.
Plastics SA is part of the Let’s Do It Foundation (the initiator of the World Clean-up Day), an accredited member of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and unites a network of 113 countries. Let’s Do It Foundation’s new initiative calls 150 countries to join the World Clean-up Days with the aim to mobilise hundreds of millions of people in a single-day event to clean up illegal waste.
This action serves the purpose of starting a rapid change for a cleaner planet. Established in Estonia, the movement has since 2008 engaged more than 18 million people in nationwide clean-up campaigns and zero-waste initiatives, because tackling waste pollution, adopting sustainable waste management systems, and redesigning and innovating for maximum material recovery will play a significant role in reaching the goals for sustainable development.