The 5 to 13 June 2021 was Make-a-Difference Week, a worldwide effort to reduce negative environmental impacts. The Cape Town Environmental Education Trust (CTEET) team kicked off the nine-day commitment with a beach cleanup from Sunrise Beach to Muizenberg on World Environment Day, which was also the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. There was … [Read more...]
Recycling project demonstrates the value of effective collaboration
In a combination of passion for the environment, a drive for economic opportunities, and the need for people to make a living, a number of civil society organisations, government structures, businesses and informal waste pickers are working together to do clean-ups, recycle and repurpose waste material that benefits all, in what promises to be a workable prototype for the City … [Read more...]
Business owner recognised for her recycling impact
Loretta Waterboer, the winner of the PETCO Awards Top Woman in Recycling, 2021 is a wonderful and passionate role model for female leadership in our industry, running her own business, LW Recycling and Trade, and partnering with the Mosselbank River Conservation Trust (MRCT) for a bigger impact in her community. When MRCT environmental officer Danielle Cronje started working … [Read more...]
Award winner for clean-up champion of the year announced
Alison Bryant of the Keep Plett Clean Campaign is the winner of the Caroline Reid Award for the Cleanup Champion of 2019. This new, annual award was established by Plastics|SA to recognise and reward excellence in South Africa by an individual in the field of marine and coastal clean-ups. Making the announcement during a gala dinner to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of … [Read more...]
Swimmers brave pollution to highlight poor river health
On Sunday 9 February Cape Town open water swimmer Andrew Chin, along with fellow athletes Dr Mandy Uys and Joy Roach from East London, swam a 10km stretch of the Bronkhorstspruit River in Gauteng. This formed part of their broader Swim for Rivers campaign, which aims to raise awareness around the poor state of our country’s rivers and to highlight the urgent need to restore … [Read more...]
Cape Town waterway pollution: turning despair into repair
Anyone who takes a walk along our Cape Town beaches and rivers can testify: we are drowning Mother Nature in waste – whether from individual consumers or household products, industrial waste and even medical waste. If you have not seen this, then it is due to volunteer groups cleaning up these sections for us. One area that is especially vulnerable to such pollution is where … [Read more...]
Beating plastic pollution and recognising a fallen ocean hero
Every person has a responsibility to keep our oceans clean. “Research has shown that 85 % of the litter found in oceans is from land based sources. Our activities this week and throughout the month of June are aimed at informing the public of the positive impact that responsible waste management can have on the world’s oceans and reminding them that plastics should be … [Read more...]
Operation #Cleanup Durban a huge success
The South African plastics industry has one again proved that we don't merely pay lip service when it comes to looking after the environment - we act on our promises! Under the guidance of Plastics|SA's Sustainability Director, Douw Steyn, supported by the KZN Marine Waste Network and various other organisations and institutions, more than 300 tons of litter were removed … [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...]
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...]
Volunteers help free Robben Island from waste burden
One of South Africa’s most famous landmarks, Robben Island, was freed from some of its waste burden as more than 100 volunteers, guided by the national PET Recycling Company (PETCO) and Plastics SA, embarked on the island’s biggest ever waste collection drive. The tourist attraction and World Heritage Site, which draws over 300 000 visitors annually, is plagued by visitor … [Read more...]
Petition calls for an end to single-use plastics
Plastic Pollution Coalition is a growing global alliance of individuals, organizations, businesses, and policymakers working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, waterways and oceans, and the environment. Please sign their petition to appeal for the banning of single use plastic due to its impact on the environment. The … [Read more...]
South Africans unite for a clean environment
Thousands of South Africans rolled up their sleeves, put on their rubber gloves and took to the beaches on Saturday, 15 September 2018 as part of the first World Clean-up Day - the largest peacetime civic action in human history. Stretching across 24 different time zones, involving 144 countries and more than 13 million volunteers worldwide, World Clean-up Day started in … [Read more...]
