It is time for South Africa to ban single-use plastic

This past weekend I spent some time with my grandson on Kommetjie beach, just outside Cape Town. It was a really unpleasant experience. There was no place to sit with him that was not covered in litter. 

Later, I took a few big bags and started to collect some of the rubbish. In the twenty minutes, before declaring defeat, I had filled three bags, but it had hardly made any difference.  

The vast majority of the litter were bottle caps, straws, plastic earbuds, cigarette lighters and plastic bags - all of which have a devastating impact on sea life. Sea birds and penguins eat the plastic bottle tops and cigarette lighters and then die from starvation. Sea turtles inhale the earbuds and plastic straws and suffocate to death.  Whales die from the plastic bags they accidental eat. If you don’t believe me, just google it…but be warned it is really disturbing to watch.

Eight million tons of plastic waste is deposited into our oceans every year - equivalent to one dump-truck of plastic dropped into the oceans each minute. It is estimated that at this current rate, by 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish. 

According to WWF, 94% of litter washing up on South African beaches is made of plastic, of which 77% is packaging. The amount of litter washing up daily in Table Bay has tripled from 1994 to 2011, far outstripping the 60% growth in Cape Town’s human population over the same period.

It is important that all of us try to reduce our plastic footprint. Of course, many argue that individual behaviour can’t make an impact, but every one of us can make a difference and supermarkets and drink companies will change if enough of us protest and complain about the unnecessary use of plastic. 

However, to make a real difference we urgently need regulations by the government. It was Valli Moosa who years ago took the courageous step of introducing a levy on plastic shopping bags. At the time consumers and the industry shouted blue murder. Yet, we all adjusted – to the point where we don’t even notice the 55 cents anymore. So, it is clearly time for more stringent regulations - not to punish people or the industry, but because it is the right and necessary thing to do. 

South Africa was a trailblazer with the plastic bag levy, but since then we have fallen behind in terms of anti-plastic legislation. 34 out of 54 countries in Africa have passed legislation banning certain types of plastic. We have none. 

If we don’t do anything our oceans will die and in addition to the tragedy of losing marine life the economic benefit from fishery and tourism will be destroyed. 

Shockingly micro-plastic is also finding its way into our water supply and into our bodies, which could have devastating long-term health implications for all of us. Researchers have even found microplastic in breast milk, fetuses and sperm. 

Of course, the plastic industry will put up a massive fight, but government should not let that deter them. Two years ago, I accompanied some parliamentarians to Kenya, to look at the huge success they have had in banning plastic bags and other single use plastics. It struck us that so many of the companies in Kenya, who had accepted the ban, were South African. If they can do it there, they can also do it here. 

The Kenyans and many other countries like Rwanda, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have also proven that there were no significant job losses since introducing these bans, but that many new jobs were created. 

Humans are adjustable and inventive. We don’t need these single use plastics – we can find other alternatives.  The whales and other marine animals have no options when it comes to their environment, nor can they adjust their lifestyles to accommodate the mountains of plastic they have to swim in. 

If we want our grandchildren to still be able to go to a beach and play in the sand or look at whales and penguins outside of museums, we must urgently take drastic action.