Minister Barbara Creecy on action required to end Plastic Pollution
5 June 2023
“Urgent action is required to combat plastic pollution and its detrimental impacts on human health, the economy and the environment. Today we are marking World Environment Day and I am visiting two recycling plants in Cape Town that are supported through Producer Responsibility Organisations to gain insights into the roles Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes are playing in plastic recycling” said the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy.
The Two projects, Waste Want, located in Kraaifontein, and CRDC SA RESIN8, in the Blackheath industrial area of Cape Town are involved in different aspects of the recycling value chain. Waste Want employs 200 people and diverts one thousand tons of plastic waste from landfills every month. CRDC SA RESIN8 is a site where plastic is mixed and converted into an aggregate modifier for the construction industry. The company currently processes 450 kg of waste a day and aims to reach 610 tons per month when it reaches full production.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in South Africa, a little over 2,5 million tons of plastic are produced annually. Poor waste management practices mean that as much as half of post -consumer plastic is not properly disposed of and risks leaking into the environment.
Last week, at the 2nd Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC2) on Plastic Pollution in Paris, France, a total of 175 nations, including South Africa, reaffirmed their commitment to developing an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment by the end of 2024.