Climate change and pollution is a global issue and has a significant impact on the ocean. Conserving marine and coastal ecosystems is essential. Global issues tend to bring together like-minded projects spanning across continents. One such project is the Bremen-Durban Marine Environmental Education Network also known as Ocean Champs. This project is jointly implemented by … [Read more...]
Join thousands around the world for the Great Nurdle Hunt
Wild Oceans is excited to be taking part in what will see more than a thousand people spanning 6 continents joining in on a worldwide search for tiny plastic pellets (nurdles) in the first Great Nurdle Hunt taking place from the 8th till the 17th of February. The hunt is taking place on 6 continents in over 16 countries, with more than 60 organisations and 170 individual … [Read more...]
West Coast communities say no to mining
The West Coast Food Sovereignty and Solidarity Forum and the communities of Koekenaap and Lutzville on the West Coast are protesting tomorrow at a meeting between Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe and a mining company, Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) because of their plans to expand mining along the West Coast without any consultation. Despite not honouring the … [Read more...]
Sustainable rPET strapping another boost for plastic recycling in SA
In a growing industry shift towards sustainable packaging and product design, one of South Africa’s largest manufacturers of wood-based products has decided to use only locally sourced and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) strapping. According to PG Bison’s chief executive officer, Gerhard Victor, the company uses 9.1 million metres of plastic strapping per annum to … [Read more...]
Paper-stemmed earbuds help reduce ocean plastic
Do you know that ear buds are one of the top ocean polluters which we pick up during beach clean-ups? Hence the following good news is so welcome: Woolworths has kick started the year with its latest announcement in its journey to ZERO packaging waste to landfill, with the roll out of Woolworths branded paper-stemmed earbuds. Switching to paper-stemmed earbuds might seem … [Read more...]
International cleanup reveals SA’s biggest beach pollutants
The results of the 2018 International Coastal Clean-up, which took place on Saturday, 15 September 2018, have just been released. “For more than two decades, thousands of South African volunteers have been joining the rest of the world on the third Saturday of September to remove, collect and document the litter from our country’s coastlines. During the 2018 event, 19,563 … [Read more...]
Now your yoghurt cups will be recycled too
There is pressure on all polystyrene producers to ensure their polymers remain in a resource loop and are recycled into new functional products. This is why Danone, manufacturers of yoghurt tubs, have joined the non-profit product recovery organisation Polystyrene Association of SA. According to the Adri Spangenberg, the Polystyrene Association’s Chief Executive Officer, … [Read more...]
Diverting organic waste from landfills to produce green energy
The improper disposal of waste is one of the fastest growing risks to our planet and way of life. Rotting food leads to increases in methane gasses as the food decomposes in landfills. To address this, the City of Cape Town plans to start banning wet waste from its landfills from 2022. The Waste Transformers from the Netherlands and South Africa’s own JSE-listed … [Read more...]
Pretoria sweeps clean in record-breaking school recycling programme
Pretoria claimed top spot at the Coca-Cola Beverages SA Schools Recycling Awards on Thursday, with schools from the capital city winning the coveted prize in both the high school and primary school categories. Kgadime Matsepe Secondary School and Tshiluvhi Primary School were declared the winners after collecting a total of 44.2 tonnes and 64.8 tonnes respectively in the … [Read more...]
Christmas windows: from waste to wow!
A local empowerment project hopes to raise awareness of the importance of re-using, re-purposing and recycling plastics. Woolworths will be giving a new spin on the concept of a ‘waste not, want not’ festive season this year as locally-made repurposed plastic flower artworks are the focal point of their Christmas windows in the top 15 stores. The show-stopping designs … [Read more...]
PET recycling champions lauded for inspirational efforts
Job creation, innovation and poverty alleviation are just some of the major achievements by several recycling initiatives that are currently taking place in South Africa – these initiatives are making a tangible difference at grassroots level in communities. This was celebrated by the PET Recycling Company (PETCO), the national recycling body for PET plastics, in the form of … [Read more...]
Reducing beach pollution with lolly stick bins
A new retrieval project aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste found on South Africa's beaches. According to John Kieser, Sustainability Manager at Plastics|SA, plastic sticks such as those typically used for earbuds, sucker/lollypops and straws, continue to be one of the biggest pollutants on our country's urban beaches. “We’ve had great success with removing … [Read more...]
Leading food packaging producer joins PET recycling company
Amid mounting pressure on major retailers and brand owners to be more environmentally-minded, one of the country’s leading food packaging producers has become the first in the PET thermoform plastics sector to join voluntary national Extended Producer Responsibility body the PET Recycling Company (PETCO). The move signals a changing sentiment among producers amid a tidal … [Read more...]
