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...]
Groundbreaking plastic upcycling invention to launch in SA
Imagine if all South Africa’s unrecycled plastic waste, at 1 100 000 million tons per year, could create thousands of jobs, clean our environment and help build our houses, hospitals, schools and roads. Don Thompson, the CEO of The Center of Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC), is about to make this a reality. He is the inventor of a process that can turn any … [Read more...]
Using theatre to teach SA’s youth the importance of recycling
What was the world like when the astronauts went to the moon in ’69? If they went again today would they see loads of litter on the little blue dot we call home? Are we being devoured by the diabolical Waste Monster we have created and grown to a disproportionate degree? Lunchbox Theatre’s ‘What a Waste Show’ teaches children about responsible waste management, recycling and … [Read more...]
Help our planet sustain its 7 billion people
The quintessential three R’s of waste management – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – have been given a makeover. ‘Rethink’ has been added to the popular slogan. The Department of Solid Waste Management, as part of its Waste Wise campaign, wanted to pay tribute to individuals who embody the ‘rethink’ motto. On World Environment Day – Wednesday 5 June 2013 – the City of Cape Town … [Read more...]
Solutions urgently needed for marine debris dilemmas
Plastic bags have been found under the dwindling arctic ice. Inaccessible Island’s beaches are covered in plastic, yet it is 3 000 km’s away from the closest source of plastic waste. Considering that we produce about 300 million tons of plastic per year, the bulk of which is not being reused or recycled, these reports are only going to get more shocking. The first ever … [Read more...]
The great Trek for Trash begins
The ‘CAN DO! Trekking for Trash’ expedition has begun. Social change adventurers Michael Baretta and Camilla Howard started their 3000km trek yesterday. The trek will continue for approximately seven months and will see Michael and Camilla walking along the South African coastline (from Alexander Bay on the Namibian border to Kosi bay on the Mozambican border) whilst … [Read more...]
Cleaning up the peninsula
With Summer nearing, Capetonians can once again look forward to lounging on the iconic beaches that stretch around the peninsula. Spending long, hot days relaxing on the sand and staring out over the ocean is undoubtedly a happy prospect. The idea of those pearly beaches being covered in litter is never part of the fantasy. And it should never become be a reality. That is … [Read more...]
