There is little sign on beaches and in waterways that the problem with plastic is being solved. After some recent big ocean swells, beaches have become clear evidence of a plastics crisis. Research by Dr Peter Ryan from UCT shows that between 1994 and 2012 beach litter in Cape Town increased by 300%, more than three-quarters of which is plastic packaging. Globally production of plastic is expected to triple by 2050. A UCT study indicates that only 17% of plastic is recycled in South Africa. The UNEP reports that globally only 9% of plastic ever made has been recycled.
There are many people and stakeholders working tirelessly towards reducing the impact of plastics. For instance, there is the South African Plastics Pact, the producer responsibility organisations like PETCO, and WWF. Recently WWF South Africa released the impeccably researched and comprehensive report Plastics: Facts and Futures – Moving Beyond Pollution Management Towards a Circular Plastics Economy in South Africa. We highly recommend that you read it.
For our month-long #plasticfreemzansi2021 focus on plastic, I sent Lorren de Kock WWF’s Project Manager: Circular Plastics Economy and co-author of the report, some questions:
During your research for the report what most surprised you?
• Our disposable lifestyles. For decades we have been taught to use and throw away items and packaging. We will need to unlearn this and relearn how to reuse and keep materials in the system.
• The narrative that the consumer is to blame for all the plastic pollution is deliberate and has been since the 1960s. There is lots of cloak and dagger, and subliminal messaging from some sectors of the industry. We need to change this narrative so that every stakeholder, specifically the upstream actors such as plastic producers, manufacturers, brand owners and retailers, take responsibility for the situation, are accountable and transparent. They, together with the government have the most leverage and power to shift the system.
• We ingest up to 5g of plastic per week. Bottled water contains more micro-plastic than tap water.
There are a number of initiatives working to limit plastic pollution. Are they making a difference?
The Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, gazetted in May, extends the responsibility of the producer to the end of life stage of the packaging which they place on the market. This policy instrument should generate more investment in the waste sector, as producers are now responsible for financially and operationally collecting, sorting and recycling their packaging post use. It also talks about fee modulation to dis-incentivise the use of packaging formats that are not currently recycled in South Africa, which influences upstream of the value chain.
The SA Plastics Pact, which was launched last year, has made much progress. Currently members are reporting on their packaging volumes and changes made in 2020 to create the baseline. It is still early days, but the SA Plastics Pact could indicate if there is a reduction in the use of virgin plastic packaging by next year (as this year is the baseline) and if more innovative reuse and other alternative product delivery models are being used in their annual reports.
With regards to the EPR, we will only see some change at the end of next year, once the first year of implementation has run its course and after the industry reports on its progress to government. There are increasing targets of post-consumer recycled content use in some packaging which means less virgin plastic will be used, and increasing recycling rates up to 2026. We expect to see better packaging design, more collection and recycling and subsequently less plastic in the environment.
However, I think the ‘proof of the pudding’ will be changes in plastic leakage on beaches and in other environments. If NGOs like The Beach Co-op track these volumes annually we might be able to see some changes in a few years. Otherwise I don’t know of other M&E initiatives which capture this data.
Is it possible for government to be responsible about the planet while its plastics masterplan promotes the “growth of the local Plastics Industry”?
The issue of development versus environmental and sustainable sustainability is an important discussion point. Supporting the growth of the local virgin plastics industry is not for the environment and in future this will be a high risk investment position. If you consider climate change and increasing pressure internationally, the government will need to think about development and environment as one thing, we cannot separate them.
Our economy is based on a linear, extractive model with negative impacts not only on the environment but on our health and the wealth inequality in our society (we have the highest GINI coefficient in South Africa). Due to the influence of large fossil fuel and mining corporations on government and policy development, we are maintaining the status quo which is hurting our environment and society. This is increasing the gap in wealth and power between the wealthy and the economically excluded.
There are approaches to the environmental issues that stimulate job creation while we transition to a circular economy. Big business can produce sustainable materials from secondary (recycled) materials. More investment can be channelled into the waste sector. There are hundreds of thousands of marginalised people trying to make a living by recycling waste. We can invest to make this easier for them, more productive and effective while improving the livelihoods of these people.
Producing more virgin plastic (or even importing more) is untenable. There are many examples of countries who have policies in place that support the economic well-being of their citizens while also conserving the environment and minimising pollution.
Political will is needed as is the reskilling and enabling a workforce to facilitate this change.
People make a distinction between the plastic pollution problem and climate change. Why?
Plastic pollution and climate change are one and the same. The plastics we consume are made from fossil fuels. Due to more and more restrictions and regulations on fossil fuel products (liquid fuel), many petro-chemical organisations have planned expansion into plastics. The market is being is flooded which is further reducing the costs of plastics. Plastics have climate change impacts (carbon emissions) at every stage of the life cycle, in addition to the other environmental and socio-economic impacts.
There is a saying that you can’t be for the environment and against plastic. What do you think of this position?
This is the position Chris Armitt presents on his site and which is popular in the industry. Plastics SA quotes Chris extensively in their reports and presentations. It is very nuanced and needs to be interrogated.
There are linear plastics (mostly all bad = virgin) and there are circular plastics. We acknowledge that plastics are valuable to modern living but we produce and consume too much which has led to the increasing waste and environmental externalities we face. If you look at independent research reports like ‘Breaking the Plastic wave’ and those by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it’s clear that we need to move to a circular plastic economy. This means reducing virgin plastic production and consumption; replacing these with recycled plastics; adopting reuse models, and eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastics. In other words, we must keeping plastics in the economy at its highest value and design out waste at the start.
My view is that if you want to be for the environment, ditch the economic model based on consumption (with increasing waste generation) and aim for a fair, distributive, circular, sharing economy. This is not based on growth but on us thriving within the planetary boundaries (see the Doughnut economy, Kate Raworth).
Read WWF South Africa’s report: Plastics: Facts and Futures here: wwf_plastics_report_final_2nov2020
Problem Plastics
There are many reasons why plastics have become ubiquitous. The American Chemistry Council says that plastics have the unique capability to be manufactured to meet very specific functional needs for consumers at economical costs. There are reasons to use it. But we need to urgently rethink problem plastics, which are identified by criteria defined in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy:
- The item is not reusable, recyclable or compostable.
- It contains, or its manufacturing requires, hazardous chemicals that pose a significant risk to human health or the environment.
- It can be avoided (or replaced by a reuse model) while maintaining utility.
- It hinders or disrupts the recyclability or compostability of other items.
- It has a high likelihood of being littered or ending up in the natural environment. (WWF South Africa)
About #PlasticFreeMzansi
Inspired by the Australian Plastic Free July campaign, Twyg and The Beach Co-op run the #PlasticFreeMzansi campaign in South Africa. It is an annual media and events campaign focussed on eliminating plastic waste, which is symbolic of the careless relationships we have with our stuff, each other and the environment. Our organisations work to repair and build caring relationships. We give nature a big, comfortable seat at our decision-making table. During July, we encourage people to be more aware of their use of plastic, and to work on solutions with communities, retailers and manufacturers. To realise this, we do beach clean-ups, inspire conscious lifestyle choices and drive circular design. We recognise that the impact of the global chain of plastic products disproportionately impacts on persons, groups, and peoples in vulnerable situations and those located in the vicinity of large-scale industrial complexes. The United Nations notes that “women in particular bear the brunt of plastic-related toxicity risk due to higher aggregate exposure to plastics in the household and even in feminine care products.”
#Refuse #Reuse #Repair #Reduce #Regenerate #Recycle #PlasticFreeMzansi2021
Images: Supplied: The Beach Co-op and WWF South Africa
