The Fishing Line Recovery Programme, aimed at preserving South Africa’s marine heritage, has extended to now boast 360 bins along the coast. DPI Plastics has been involved with the initiative for the past four years, supplying the pipes and fittings for the manufacture of the specially-designed fishing line repositories, explains Marketing Manager Martine Goodchild. The … [Read more...]
Joburg Mayor joins Miss Earth SA for World Environment Day street clean-up
One hundred street and park clean-ups formed part of the World Environment Day celebrations for the Miss Earth South Africa Leadership programme in partnership with the City of Joburg and Pikitup. From the 1st – 5th June, 100 Miss Earth SA regional finalists have been hard at work connecting with their communities across the country. Under the banner of the international … [Read more...]
Cape Town issues critical warning on dire water shortage
The City of Cape Town has issued a “critical warning” to its residents to only use water for drinking‚ bathing and cooking. This comes after its usable dam water levels reached 11.2% this week. The city has also applied to the mayoral committee for the application of level 4 water restrictions. “This communication serves as a critical warning to all water users in Cape … [Read more...]
Moth-eaten: plastic-eating caterpillars could save the planet
Most scientific research follows a logical progression, with one experiment following up on the findings of another. Every now and then, however, serendipity plays a part. Such is the case with a paper just published in Current Biology, which reveals to the world a moth capable of chewing up plastic. The experiment behind the paper was inspired when Federica Bertocchini, an … [Read more...]
What to do about our plastic-chocked oceans
Imagine an area 34 times the size of Manhattan. Now imagine it covered ankle-deep in plastic waste — piles of soda bottles and plastic bags, takeout containers by the mile, drinking straws as far as the eye can see. That’s a total of about 19 billion pounds of garbage. And according to one of the best estimates available, that’s how much plastic waste ends up in our oceans … [Read more...]
New landfill regulations aim to minimise pollution and protect health
Waste disposal norms and standards have been implemented at South Africa’s 876 in order to minimise pollution and protect the health and safety of residents by correctly containing the waste. Jan Palm, President of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), discussed the importance of having these regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure that the … [Read more...]
Living on water: are waterborne cities more resistant to climate change?
By the year 2050 about 70% of the world's population of 10 billion people will be living in cities, according to the United Nations. The question is, will there be enough land to go around? Not according to Jason Pomeroy -- founder of Singapore-based green architecture firm Pomeroy Studio -- who believes that due to climate change and rising sea levels, humans will be forced … [Read more...]
Rich booty of waste collected at 2017 SA navy festival
The SA Navy Festival in Simonstown delivered a big variety of waste, which was carefully sorted and sent for recycling. The Plastics|SA Clean-Up crews were once again in action at this year’s SA Navy Festival that took place at the Simonstown harbour from the 17th to the 19th of March. According to John Kieser, Plastics|SA’s Sustainability Manager and coordinator of the … [Read more...]
Recycled polystyrene used in new Table Bay mall construction
More than 15 tons of recycled, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) have already gone into the production of 20,000 Greenlite Concrete blocks used in the new Table Bay Mall that is currently being constructed. Expected to open its doors at the end of September this year, this 65 000 m² regional shopping centre is located on a 20 ha site on the corner of the R27 (West Coast Road) and … [Read more...]
Kabega Primary wins clean-up and recycling competition
Kabega Primary School in Port Elizabeth has once again proven their mettle as a group of learners committed to sustainability and cleaning up their environment, by emerging victorious in Plastics|SA’s annual Clean-Up and Recycle Competition. According to Jacques Lightfoot, Sustainability Manager at Plastics|SA, the aim of this yearly competition is to encourage, schools, … [Read more...]
Plastics industry supporting young recycling entrepreneurs
The National Recycling Forum (NRF) focus their efforts on supporting young recycling entrepreneurs with their growing businesses. One such company is Songimvelo led by Irvin Khumalo and Hugo Ngcobo. Songimvelo grabbed the NRF’s attention because of their great ingenuity and perseverance in creating sustainable and successful businesses within the recycling industry. These … [Read more...]
Global plastics industry combats marine litter
Seven new signatories were added to The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter, also informally known as the “Joint Declaration” in 2016. New participants include the American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA), the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA), the Flexible Packaging Association … [Read more...]
The new gift of Christmas
Every year I write a Green Christmas story. About green shopping, green tree decorations and greener holidays. Poor planet. Up goes resource extraction, up goes the mounds of waste, up goes water consumption, up goes everyone’s footprint – people driving and flying all over the place. Over-spending, over-eating, over-drinking. It’s this über mentality that got us into … [Read more...]
