Growing up on the outskirts of Johannesburg in the years after Apartheid, Angelo Louw made it his life’s mission to restore dignity to the people and place he came from. While his work as a writer, editor, and advocacy officer sometimes touches on climate change, he didn’t initially see it as part of his purpose. However, he soon realised the undeniable connection: safeguarding our planet is paramount to safeguarding our communities. After all, it is the most vulnerable communities that will disproportionately suffer the consequences of climate change.

After his tenure as Greenpeace Africa’s Anti-Plastic Project Lead, Angelo now serves as the Content Editor at Greenpeace International. Together with his filmmaking partner, Malcolm Rainers, he has released a short film addressing plastic pollution across Africa titled TRASH: The surge of waste colonialism in Africa.

Spurred by Angelo noting the build up of plastic waste in his hometown – Lenasia, Johannesburg – the visual anthology journeys through Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We chatted to Angelo to find out more:

What are plastic pollution impacts?

People always assume that plastic pollution is an aesthetic issue, they hate the way it looks, but in places like Cameroon and the DRC, people die because of plastic pollution. They fall ill because of plastic pollution, and it is destroying their livelihoods. That’s the real threat that plastic poses to human beings. It is dangerous and ruins lives.

Local people help Greenpeace to load bags of unsold used garments into a container by Kevin McElvaney

How much textile waste did you see during your research?

I wish we had enough budget to have included a segment on Kenya because it seems out of control there. While Kenya is seeing a slight improvement to the environment because of its plastic bag ban, it seems to be making up for it with other types of plastic waste, like textiles, which many people don’t even know is made up of synthetic material, or plastic. My colleagues at Greenpeace released a report a year ago looking at this type of waste colonialism, and some activists even returned textile waste sent to Ghana back to Germany, during Berlin Fashion Week.

How can we reverse this terrible affliction on our environment?

Plastic must be regulated at a governmental level. There are international discussions currently around a Global Plastic Treaty which could be useful if it’s ambitious enough. As individuals, I would encourage the public to support any of the many organisations fighting tooth and nail at these negotiations so that we don’t miss the opportunity for real and necessary change. Sign up to mailing lists and WhatsApp groups, and show up at protests!

What do you hope to achieve with your messaging?

Part of the reason why we made this film was to show decision-makers what’s at stake if they do not take serious, urgent action. When we think of the threat plastic poses, it always seems so far away; but, these case studies are not just current, communities have been experiencing these issues for years.

Scene from TRASH by Greenpeace Africa

What are the immediate actions we can take?

I’d encourage people to reduce the amount of plastic they purchase, but this is unrealistic given how much plastic we are forced to consume – everything is wrapped in plastics these days, and then wrapped in even more plastic. Unfortunately, governments are the only ones with actual power to stop this pollution problem.

And should corporate polluters and governments do now?

We need to go back to traditional reuse and refill models. At the moment, it’s trendy and available to a suburban niche market in South Africa. These models need to be rolled out more widely… and rewarded, not charged at premium! We only have one planet, it’s in everyone’s interest, including those at these big corporations, to curb plastic production because of the role it plays in the climate crisis.

Watch the documentary TRASH: the surge of waste colonialism in Africa below:

• Feature image shows textile waste from the Kantamanto Market in Accra, the largest second-hand market in Ghana, placed in Berlin by Paul Lovis Wagner
• Visit Greenpeace Africa to find out more about the organisation and its programmes
• Visit NUDE FOODS for a plastic free shopping experience