Plastic (Less Than) Fantastic

We all want to help save the planet, but sometimes knowing how is the hardest part. Here are your need-to-knows, plus hassle-free ways you can help to make a difference.

- Sarah Browning-De Villiers

We’ve all seen something plastic related in the past year that’s brought tears to our eyes: headlines in June about the whale that died after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags; the turtle on that viral YouTube video with a plastic straw lodged deeply in its bloody nose; the sea horse floating with its tail wrapped around an earbud, appearing on your Instagram feed. But what are the facts, and what can you actually do about it?

WHERE WE ARE

‘Globally we’ve produced approximately 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic since plastic was invented [in the 1950s], according to a 2017 study published in Science Advances. Almost half was produced in only the last 13 years,’ says Cape Town’s Zoë Palmer, a senior consultant for environment and planning at engineering and advisory company Aurecon. ‘By 2015, only nine percent of the plastic generated had been recycled; 12% has been incinerated and a staggering 79% was accumulated in landfills – a problem, since plastics do not decompose. Some plastics in landfill sites have been found to leach their chemicals into the ground. Studies suggest these hazardous chemicals are polluting our underground water supply.’

What’s even more scary is how much of this plastic ends up in our oceans. ‘Eight million tonnes,’ says GreenCape’s waste economy programme manager, Quinton Williams. ‘When it comes to microplastics [particles smaller than five millimetres], there are about 51 trillion of these in our oceans.’