ALTHOUGH the plastics and plastic products industry contributed about R70-billion to South Africa’s economy in 2019, according to Plastics South Africa, plastic pollution has also had a significant impact on the country’s ecosystem services.
Therefore, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy has called for South Africa to “move beyond” innovative pilot programmes and significant local partnerships and craft a roadmap for the country to address the problem of plastic waste leaking into the environment.
Plastic waste undermines the flood absorption and water storage capacity of the country’s wetlands, and threatens oceans, catchments, river systems and estuaries, as well as the crucial services they provide for both people and nature.
During a virtual plastics colloquium feedback session – the second since 2019 – on November 12, Creecy said this intervention was necessary to address the fact that “almost one-third of plastic waste leaks into the environment with devastating
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