DURBAN North resident Steve Cohen is looking to advance the local fight against pollution in the City through the efforts of the Durban Partnership Against Plastic Pollution (DPaPP).
Cohen founded the campaign in September last year, in order to provide a platform from which different organisations can coordinate their actions in a tangible way toward reducing plastic pollution in Durban.
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“I’ve been paddling the uMgeni River for over 20 years and with the help of others, I initiated DPaPP from seeing the impact of the environmental crisis South Africa is facing,” he explained.
Cohen, who has a professional background in the environmental and social development sector as a consultant, said that DPaPP aims to combat the “business as usual” mindset which Durbanites have on the issue by mobilising the power of the consumer on one hand, and on the other, by getting together all relevant stakeholders and providing goals and strategies that are monitored and which organisations are held accountable to achieve.
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“At the moment, we’re admittedly still in our infancy and those involved are still only a loose collaboration, but as a coastal city, the effect of plastic pollution on our environment is something which needs to be urgently tackled,” he said.
Cohen went on to say the evidence of the crisis was visible after heavy rains when a fraction of the pollution that is transported down the uMgeni River and into the sea, is beached at the estuary’s mouth.
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“With only 55 per cent of PET bottles – those we use for soft drinks and bottled water – being recycled, 45 per cent ends up either in a landfill or the environment. This is why the other aspect of DPaPP is to galvanise the power of consumers,” he added, saying that through campaigns he hopes people will think about how and what they consume, and change not only their daily practices but also to pressure retailers to change their behaviour toward the environment.
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