ECO warriors in Australia, the Western Earth Carers, have challenged the world to ‘go plastic free this July‘.
Straight off the bat this challenge looks near impossible, with so many items in our daily lives consisting of some type of plastic.
This Northglen News reporter failed this challenge within the first hour of her day. Showering alone required the use of at least three plastic packaged items. But don’t let that discourage you.
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The award winning campaign, Plastic Free July, actually urges the public to refrain from using ‘single-use plastics’, while also challenging people to seek alternatives to the non-biodegradable products and packaging.
As the name suggests, single-use plastics (also known as disposable plastics) are only used once before they are discarded or recycled.
These items include, plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, bottles and food packaging.
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According to the PET Plastic Recycling South Africa (PETCO), only 55 per cent of plastic bottles were recycled in the country in 2016, while South Africans used an estimated 227 000 tons of plastic that same year. Every year the amount increases by eight per cent.
It has been estimated that there are more than five trillion pieces of plastic, collectively weighing nearly 269 000 tons, floating in the world’s rivers and oceans, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced last year.
It is clear that plastic waste is not going anywhere anytime soon, however, Glenhills resident and co-founder of the #CleanBlueLagoon initiative, Dale Johnson, said it was important for people to follow the three R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle.
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“Plastic is everywhere and difficult to completely avoid. It is a cheap form of packaging, and until we see a turnaround in the industry or eco-friendly alternatives becoming more affordable the vicious cycle will continue,” he said.
“But plastic is only half the battle. We constantly see plastic waste, because it floats. Tins and other heavy waste sink to the bottom. How much waste is there in our oceans and rivers that we cannot see,” he added.
Johnson urged the community to witness the devastation of plastic first-hand by attending the next #CleanBlueLagoon clean-up on Saturday, 15 July at the Beachwood Mangroves.
The event will kick off at 9.30am. Contact Dale Johnson on 082 903 0500.
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