SOUTH Africa has come under criticism for alleged unwillingness to tackle plastic pollution.
The censure by Greenpeace, groundWork and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) follows South Africa’s failure to participate at a ministerial meeting on a proposed global plastics treaty.
They believe South Africa still seems to be pinning hopes of its economic revival on a section of the plastic industry’s alleged empty promises based on “use and throw” models.
“South Africa can no longer rely on apartheid era economic models,” said Angelo Louw of the Greenpeace Pan-African Plastic Project.
“After decades of burning coal, South Africa is home to the world’s richest mineral deposits and yet we are officially the most unemployed nation in the world is a clear indicator that the fossil fuels industry, and plastic as an extension, is not going to save the economy.”
The criticism comes after leaked documents from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment indicated South Africa’s intention to reject the proposed treaty after consultations were only limited to plastic and other business interest groups.
Niven Reddy, Break Free From Plastic African Coordinator and groundwork Campaigns Researcher, said the government’s unwillingness to provide moral leadership also ignores the potential employment opportunities in shifting away from single-use plastic.
Research shows that reuse, repair and refill sectors create 200 times more employment opportunities than current disposal systems of the plastic crisis.
“If our government (South Africa) is really serious about addressing both the plastic and unemployment crises then we need it to take bolder steps away from single-use plastic and incentivise the move to refill and reuse,” Reddy said.
The South African government has until February 2022 to reconsider its stance when deliberations on the negotiating mandate for a new global treaty for addressing plastic pollution will commence at the United Nations Environment Assembly.
Prabhat Upadhyaya, WWF South Africa Senior Political Analyst, said South Africa must take a coherent approach for meeting environment and development objectives simultaneously.
“It should not be an either-or conversation anymore,” Upadhyaya said.
The official opposition, Democratic Alliance (DA), has expressed concern at the government’s reported plans to oppose the potentially ground-breaking United Nations (UN) multinational treaty on plastics pollution.
“These allegations are concerning considering that South Africa is currently the African continent’s third worst offender when it comes to plastic pollution and generates an estimated four and a half million tons of plastic waste every year,” said Dave Bryant, the DA Shadow Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
– CAJ News
