At state-of-the-art labs in Pretoria, a team of scientists is developing compostable products to replace single-use ones that are not recycled
This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers.
Get Your Free Account
The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member.
Register
Registration enables:
- – M&G newsletters access
- – notifications
- – the best possible experience
Already registered?
Login here
Want to subscribe and get even more benefits?
Explore our subscription offers
The initiative in Kenya employs people to make art from flip-flops that have been thrown into the sea
The Sweethearts Foundation sells the plastic to recyclers and buys wheelchairs
In Accra, as in much of urban Africa, waste management falls far short of what it needs to be. Plastic waste is killing marine life and fishers’ incomes
An international team of researchers has found plastic chemicals in seabirds, including flame retardants and UV stabilisers, as well as banned pollutants
Activists have pointed out interesting ways that people can learn something new and have an adventure while doing their bit to save the ocean.
The quantity of rubbish in the sea is driving a growing alarm among countries whose economies rely on tourism
Yet plans are underway to import more plastic waste into the country and it has not signed global plastics treaty
‘Leaked environment department document is a copy and paste of plastics industry arguments’
This content is restricted to subscribers only.
Join the M&G Community
Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.
Subscribe
Subscription enables:
- – M&G community membership
- – independent journalism
- – access to all premium articles & features
- – a digital version of the weekly newspaper
- – invites to subscriber-only events
- – the opportunity to test new online features first
Already a subscriber?
Login here.
The country risks ‘pariah status’ for approach to global plastic waste crisis
Covid-19 has devastated the economy, but it has also opened a window of opportunity for businesses
Single-use PPE, such as face masks and gloves, is hurting and killing wildlife and pets around the globe
Humans eat, drink and breathe in tens of thousands of micro- and nanoplastics, but research into the effects on health is limited
Four friends who spent their spare time diving saw the bigger picture and started an organisation to defend the blue
After being discovered with a belly full of plastic waste, Bob has become an ocean ambassador
We must continue to hold manufacturers to account and push for better waste management
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle were responsible for the most pieces of plastic collected according to an environmental pressure group
Two local projects are turning to plastic instead of bitumen to bind the asphalt used to construct roads
The cost in damage to the marine ecosystems is $13-billion each year
A key focus at the IIOE-2 and SANOCEAN conferences was the issue of marine plastics
Plastic imports to Malaysia have tripled since 2016, to 870 000 tonnes last year, official data showed
Plastic straws and their role in environmental sustainability remain an issue of global concern
Our readers write in about plastic waste, SMEs, humanism, and restitution
In mainland China, imports of plastic waste have dropped from 600 000 tonnes per month in 2016 to about 30 000 a month in 2018
South Africa’s apathetic attitude to plastic use requires an intervention — but what would work here?
The UK produced 11m tonnes of plastic waste in 2017, and recycled around two thirds of it. Or so it seemed
‘Plastic represents a source of climate-relevant trace gases that is expected to increase as more plastic is produced”
Some retailers, recognising an opportunity to gain significant marketing mileage, have been quick to respond by introducing plastic alternatives
A across the world, only 9 percent of the nine billion tonnes of plastic produced to date has been recycled, a recent UN report said
Businesses are slowly phasing out nonrecyclable plastic waste
More than 60 countries have instituted bans on plastic use
By
More than 11 billion pieces of plastic larger than five centimetres wide are littering coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific region